Broken Paintbrush

As promised I completed Cypher and posting the pictures, off to a good start on my new goals!

Cypher was a great character in 3rd Edition Chaos that was mysteriously phased out in the following Codex which really is a shame. Though after reading DFG’s rumor roundup it seems like he may be making a comeback!

And here is the full squad together. I am quite aware that I may never be able to play with the squad (except for Apoc of course) but after sitting in my closet for years I figured that Cypher had earned himself a squad.

Well the pictures capture that I haven’t really “completed” the squad as most evident by the lack of a banner. I also haven’t finished clear coating and glossing the models (see the back of the medic for a finished piece there), but it is done enough to post and put on the shelf until the day I decide to add custom banners to models.

Next up will be some Ork Boyz!

So I finally completed the last two members of the Fallen Angel command squad to accompany Cypher. Well when I say complete, the models are complete, I now need to create a banner or the pole bearer… I’ll be spending some time on FTW trying to get ideas for that.

First up, the standard bearer:

And the final member: the power weapon bearing dude.

And here is the squad all together waiting their mighty, if mysterious leader.As I paint Cypher up I plan to take more step-by-step pictures to post how I did each step. stay tuned!

Finished two more Fallen Angels for Cypher’s retinue. As I wanted to treat Cypher as a Space Marine Captain (or is he really the Primarch!?!) I built the retinue as a command squad including a medic. I figured that even Fallen Angels need to preserve their gene seed to continue the fight.And the third Fallen:

Something about robed marines is rather fun to paint and quite dramatic.

And the first three together.Even though I’m painting each one at a time, I’ve written down the paint colors for each step so each model stays consistent even when I leave the lid off my wet pallet and it all dries up.

As promised in my last post I’ve been working on something that old timer Chaos players may remember: Fallen Angels. These are the secret that the Dark Angels do not want any one to know about. They are the followers of the mysterious Cypher which was a special character option in the 3rd edition Chaos Space Marine Codex.

I’ve had these models kicking around my closet for years (Cypher since 3rd edition even) and never got around to painting them up until this last week. After priming and laying down the base coat on all the models I decided to do a test model first to see how it turned out.

As there is no official Fallen models I am using normal Dark Angel models for the squad with bits from the command squad. I could not find any special markings to set them apart from the loyal brothers so I just added some blood to the wings, symbolizing them being torn off.

Although this model is 90% done I still have markings left to do but I’m not sure what they will be, any suggestions? I also really wanted to play with the robes, making them look like they have been dragged through the mud a bit.

Also wanted to play with a bit of gory-painting and show they actually use those chain-saw weapons of death.

And just to prove that I really do have the whole squad and the mystery that is Cypher:So one down, five more to go and a banner to boot.

So with the long, holiday weekend I spent a bit of time finishing up the two Traitor Russes.

Here is the finished Traitor Leman Russ #2.

At first I was going to paint the lenses green to match my Iron Warriors but through it clashed a bit too much and decided on the blue instead.

I also thought the cargo boxes looked a bit funny being empty so I painted up some bitz to add some details. This one has an extra gas can (for those torch wielding fanatics), an extra lasgun and a rusty shovel.

And Russ #3.

This one got a camo cloth and broken down  stubber.

Hope you all like how they turned out. I have the two Leman Russ Demolishers still to do but first I have a surprise. The next unit has been sitting on my desk for a few years now begging to be painted and all you old school Chaos players might remember this character

So the second Russ went a lot faster even though I did a bigger Chaos star. I also was more careful with not rubbing the masking medium and it paid off.

In trying to keep the stars more free-form and chaotic I choose different centers and angles for each but kept the same size to give some coherency.

Next up is some more detailing and the final weathering (dust/mud splatter)

So I’m hoping that I’m starting to pick up the pace a bit now that I’m getting back into the painting but it still feels like I’m slogging along. Anyway, on to the new work:

I spent this last week to add a chaos star to the tank to add some color and break up the large side. As I said in the last post the idea came from the amazing Dave Taylor’s work and tutorial. The base coat is Tausept Ocher, then adding Dheneb Stone and finally Skull White for the highlights. I wanted to set off the yellow from the red as the two colors somewhat blue together at the edges so I added a fine line of Necron Abyss.

I wanted to add some wear to the markings but without having to go back and repainting it on so I tried using a masking medium that “paints” on and once dry allows you to paint over it, and when done just rub it off. It didn’t seem to work to well on this tank as I tended to rub it off while working on it so the other Russ I plan on handling a bit more careful.

The close up of the back o the turret you can see some of the masking fluid’s work.

The last Russ is almost complete with it’s chaos stars and both will be moving on to the last weathering stage before completion.

So I’ve been able to change my schedule up to get some free time in the morning to start (finally) painting again. After getting over the hand cramps and the loss of muscle memory in the hands, I have managed to get some work done on two more Leman Russ tanks for my traitor guard.

Both of these tanks are fairly simple in the conversion sense as they are support tanks for the lead Russ. To add some character (and color) to the tanks I plan on adding some Chaos stars ala Dave Taylor thanks to his great tutorial.

Its kinda weird seeing the interblogs all up in flames about the price raises, the finecast (or not so finecast), and European stores in chains. Maybe its been too long since I’ve actually played a game to be too concerned about it all but I have no plans on dropping GW or their products. Personally I’m going to wait a few months or a year before buying any finecast so they can work out their production issues but I’m excited for the possibilities.

Just finished the second Obliterator.

I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. It has been a good step in learning how to sculpt, hopefully I will eventually be able to sculpt all the parts. Until then I have boxes full of bitzs to use.

I also put together a stage-by-stage picture, I think it is pretty inspiration for me, especially as I’m about to start the third, and last for now, obliterator.

click for larger picture

until next time…

I was able to get some paint done on the second obliterator. It is amazing what a bit of primer can do for a sculpted piece…

Next up was the base coat. This was mostly to block out the colors and give a base coat to the follow up colors. Ugly at this stage is ok…

After a black wash to deepen the shadows I focussed on the flesh, both the daemonic as well as the human(ish). The skin was a mix of ice blue, space wolf gray, grave yard earth, and elf flesh. The blue was a mix of ice blue, space wolf gray and mordian blue. The blue was then highlighted with a mix of blue and mithril silver to blend it into the actual metal.

Next up is the metal areas and then the robe. As always, comments and suggestions are appreciated.