Saturday, February 14, 2015

A Great Unclean one for Valentine's day

Hey ladies!

Finally getting around to finishing my GUO... Need him for my Adepticon army, so finishing up his highlights and little details.  Fun model, hoping I didn't go to monochrome with him.  I think he looks swell.  Happy V day errbody!


Thursday, February 12, 2015

Blight King Terminators... WIP pics

Squoze, Herald of Nurgle here... finally got around to painting some of my Blight Terminators... here is some WIP pics:



 Aaaaaand, done:
Once I get more lighting claws arms I will finish up the last two!  Yay!

-Squoze

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Tools of the Trade: PART DEUX. TOOL FAST, TOOL FURIOUS

Hello!  So lets talk about a few more handy tools for the modeling wargamer... these things aren't quite necessary, but on my desk, they are indispensable.  And quite a lot of destructive fun!

DREMEL

Now, the Dremel tool isn't totally necessary, but if you really want to do some serious plastic shedding, you gotta get one.  You can use them for drilling holes if you have a steady hand, or get a bit like this one, and use it to create pits and scratches in armor, vehicles, etc... its a great effect.  You got to be careful with this little bastard though, you can take a little too much off of you aren't careful... and if you run this bad boy at too high a setting you will be melting the shit out of your little plastic mens, and you don't want that... one cause it could ruin your models, and two because burning plastic can create some fumes that I'm pretty sure aren't good for you.  This tool is great fun, and when you run it, people in the other room wonder what the fuck you are doing.  Here is a model I did that had some serious Dremel action.  In retrospect maybe too much, but it gives you a good idea of what the Dremel can do in the wrong hands:


The desired effect was corroded, pitted armor.  I think he looks quite pitted. Quite.  Ok, next tool...

DENTAL TOOLZ

Not just for dentists anymore!  Anyone with an interest in semi-professional dentistry might have some sweet tools like this you can borrow, or head down to the ol' dental hobby shop and pick some up.  But really, you should be able to find things like this in a hobby store in the sculpting section.  Or next time you go in for your yearly checkup and fluoride, you swipe the dentists tools when they aren't looking.  And every time, every fucking time they say, "you aren't flossing enough".  Jeezus.  Who has the time to floss?  Anyway, stealing their sweet-ass tools will show 'em.  These are great for modeling and molding your greenstuff and whatever else might need poking and prodding, paint scraping, and general stabby-ness.  Speaking of Green Stuff....

Modelling putty/Green stuff

You will find green stuff at your fave game store, and its actually called Green Stuff.  I bet you cant guess why.  Also pictured here is my favorite modeling medium, Milliput.  Both  are two part modeling compounds, and both get good and hard after a few hours (just like prom night!).  Modeling compound like green stuff is responsible for more shitty "conversions" than I care to count, so it takes some time and a keen sense of editing to make it look like something other than a big fucking blob on your models.  We'll talk about that later... but just some quick notes, work these compounds with wet fingers and tools, or it will stick to everything... and for fucks sake smooth out all those fingerprints.  It is not cool.  Here's a model that I went apeshit crazy on with some Milliput:


The tentacle around the axe, the fleshy bits around the spikes, the eyes, the horn, his chest, the base... all built up with milliput.  This is what happens when you have a lot of time on your hands... sometimes the result is ok, this example is questionable.  Moving on...

HOTT GLOO GUN

One of my favorites, the hot glue gun.  These are mad cheap, so if you are like me and you lose one every few months, you can just buy another... they are like 4 whole dollars.  I cant think of many things I can get for 4 dollars these days... maybe a few double cheeseburgers, or a night with your mom.  But unlike your mom, these things get warm and gooey and are useful.  They are fantastic for gluing together foamboard when you are making awesome buildings, and for gluing your styrofoam and styrene hills together.  I also use them for interesting goo effects, I've gone so far as to use them on the bases of my Nurgle troops, to mimic the look of them standing in puddles of nondescript slime.  There are also colored glue sticks that could be used for some interesting effects... I've also modeled some sweet 'nid drop pods, cracking open with pools of goo spilling out... the only limit is the imagination.  Get one (a hot glue gun, hopefully you already have an imagination).


THE AIR BRUSH

Another nice to have tool that makes life a whole lot easier.  Base coating models with an airbrush is one of the simple pleasures in life we should all experience.  Adding sweet fades, graceful designs and my favorite, OSL (Object Source Lighting) are just a few of the things you can do with some patience, a steady hand and a nice airbrush.  Like a cool breeze off the ocean, a relaxing bubble bath, or the screams of your victims as they try to escape, this is just a joy.  Its great to be able to mix your own colors, to paint models cleanly and evenly, and to graffiti anti government slogans on very small buildings.  A decent setup could cost you as little as 150 to 200 dollars, and it will pay for itself in no time.  Check out the eBay, I'm sure they have plenty of airbrushes and compressors for a decent price.  Mine is a sweet double action deal that allows you to adjust the pressure of the air flow as well as the size of the spray... very handy.  A rule of thumb with these as well, CLEAN THEM OFTEN.  They can get gummed up with paint pretty quickly, so clean after every use.  Clean them at least 3 times as often as you clean yourself, you stinky little monkey.

Ok, so a few odds and ends aside, that's what I have sitting on my awesome desk here.  These tools have made all of my work that much easier and enjoyable.  Again, this is just what I use, and your mileage may vary.  Find the tools that work best with you, experiment and have fun.

-SQUOZE

Tools of the Trade: PART 1, THE TOOLENING

Squoze, Herald of Nurgle here...


I moderate r/warhammer over on Reddit.  I run a weekly thread where noobs can come in and ask noobular type questions, and its a good time.  One of the most common questions I see is "what tools do I need for this hobby?"  Well here you have it.  I have plagiarized my own work here from another blog I ran a few years ago (The Wargaming Anarchists Cookbook) but it seemed a nice place to re-introduce this post.  I hope its a nice starting point for some of you noobs out there.  Enjoy!

KaNife

Here we have the standard tool of tools, the hobby knife.  You want to get the kind with removable replaceable blades, so when they get duller than the current Chaos Space Marine Codex you can replace them.   Unlike this one here.  I will change it when I'm damn good and ready.  In all cases, be fucking careful with these... a fresh blade will slice through your hand like it ain't no thang.. you won't even feel it at first this shit is so sharp.  Next thing you know you are dripping blood on your new pants your mom just bought you, feeling woozy and SLAM!  Head right down on the table amidst your plastic space men parts.  Use caution okay kids?

Sproo Cutta

Here we have the sprue cutter.  This is an invaluable tool.  I use mine for everything... removing parts from sprue, trimming parts, conversions such as cutting off hands and heads, and the occasional back-alley Bris.  Also handy in the bedroom, and fuck, it even makes fries in 7 different ways!  7!  Anyswayze, you want this to safely remove parts from the sprue, cause I know what your little nooby ass is thinking, "I will just twist them till they come off!"  NO, BAD MOVE MY LITTLE HOMBRE.  This is a good way to break those delicate parts, and generally ruin a perfectly good piece of expensive plastic.  Use sprue cutters you goofy bastard.

Supah Gloo

Super glue.  Get some.  I prefer the thicker kind.  This will allow you to add a drop, and it not run all over the goddamn place while you are fumbling to get  the other piece lined up with it.  Use sparingly, or don't listen to me cause I glob this shit on as though the fate of the universe depended on it.  Whatever you decide keep your hands away from your naughty bits if you get some of this on you, nothing is more embarrassing than going to the ER and having to explain to the Doc that you glued your hands to your nutsack while trying to make plastic space men.  Trust me on this.

Plastik Seement

Plastic cement.  This is an option for you, obviously only for gluing plastics.  Thus the name, Plastic cement.  I hate that I have to bring that up, but as usual, I only bring it up cause some goofball has probably tried to glue metals or other shit together with it.  No Mr. Wizard, its time for you to head back to Hogwarts for another semester...  plastic cement is for plastic only.  Anywhoo, I don't like plastic cement as much, because it creates too strong a bond for my taste... sometimes I get all antsy in the pantsy and want to remove an arm or a leg to redo a model, and a superglued joint will snap apart nice and clean... not so with plastic cement, it melts the plastic together, and once its together, its together... if you try to pull any arms off you will find the weaker parts of the model snapping off, and there you are with the elbow joint of your favorite xenos, thinking to yourself, "I need to switch to superglue."

Pin vise

The pin vise... this is a handy little tool that is nothing more than a drill bit on a nifty little handle.  Use this for drilling out gun barrels for that realistic look (pew pew pew!!) or for drilling holes to attach pins, for pinning heavier bits of models together.  Also handy for drilling tiny peepholes in bathroom walls.  Hehehe.

Filez

Get some files!  Super handy for removing those exta bits of plastic, or flattening out pieces to make them fit.  Get different shapes and sizes if you can.  Keep some brushes around to clean them off!

Ok, so I think that's the basic shit to get you started.  Check out any decent hobby store nearby and get your shop on.  At the very least get a hobby knife and some good glue.  Over time you will find the tools that work best for you, and you will soon find out what you really need.  Have fun and don't take yourself too seriously, we are playing with little plastic guys for fucks sake.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Forgeworld Cerastus Knight Lancer: My Imperial Knight Army Expands


Well, it took a LONG time, but I finally got the Cerastus Knight Lancer I had ordered. I absolutely loved this kit. In fact I loved putting this kit together and painting it so much, that I now have another one on the way. That will give me 5 Knights total finishing out my 2000 point Imperial Knight army. Here's some pictures documenting the assembly and painting of this bad boy.