Restructuring and Rebuilding the Aquamarines (long and pic heavy) [Draft]

I started writing this post in 2013 and worked on it little by little over the years. 

[Chart done, in progress, and want]

A Landraider re-build with second paint job circa 1998
(click on image to enlarge)

As I have mentioned before, I started playing 40K back in Rogue Trader days--The year it came out in the US actually. I think I played a friend's Ork army in my first game. Soon after, I started collecting my own figures.

Back then for $20 you could buy a boxed set of 30 Space Marines, a boxed set of 3 Rhinos, or a boxed set of 2 Land Raiders! That was $60 for an entire army !! Yeah, yeah, inflation you say. According to DollarTimes inflation calculator, $60 in 1987 is equivalent to $124.67 in 2013.  Just for giggles, let's do a comparison. In 1987 I paid $125 (in 2013 dollars). For that, I got 30 Tactical Marines, 3 Rhinos and 2 Land Raiders. Today those models will run you... $380.25!

Over the years, I have painted a fair amount of Aquamarines-- Models pained in different styles and different levels of proficiency. Every time I got back in the hobby and started painting, much of my efforts were spent in re-painting and reorganizing models to the current codex. Still, I never managed to get a large force painted.

A long time ago, I made a rule for myself. The intention was to not assemble figures until I was ready to paint them... something I have mostly kept true. However, I have never given myself a restriction to buying models--There are only external limits like my pocket book and my wife.

My most recent attempt at reviving the Aquamarines (around 2009), was creating banner art in CorelDraw, and then adding a painterly-style shading in Photoshop. I finished the Squad banners and most of the character banners, but the chapter banner was left incomplete.

Chapter Banner WiP
(click on image to enlarge)

At the moment, I am still unable to field a cohesive and painted force. This post is the first step in achieving that goal. I am taking a que from Admiral Drax by creating a spread sheet (I love spreadsheets!) of all the models and plotting the stage that each one is in.

28mm Modern/Sci-Fi Medium Duty Truck Conversion

This is a conversion Adeptus-B made a number of years ago for a Dark Heresy encounter.

It is primarily made from the back half of an Ork War Trakk and the cab of an Imperial Guard Sentinel.

Generic Aliens for Dark Heresy

I few years ago, I found these 'aliens' at Blizzard's website for $4. They are Zerglings from Star Craft. There were 9 of them in the pack as well as 9 Terran Marines. Not yet sure what I will do with the marines--But I have some ideas. The marines are quite large, about the height of a T'au Crisis Battlesuit, but bulkier.

The aliens came in three positions.

After trimming down the molded base, I glued them to oval 75x45mm MDF bases.

These were easy to paint up. After a base coat, I simply added 3 quick layers of dry-brushing.

40k Statue

Today we have a repurposing of a very old miniature--A Rogue Trader era Marneus Calgar, Ultramarine Commander.

At one point, I had attempted (and failed) to convert Calgar to an Assault Marine leader. This unfinished conversion left poor Calgar without a right leg, leaving me to convert him back to his original pose.

I have glued Marneus, his bolter rack, and his cloak/helmet stand onto a Coke bottle cap. Which was then glued to a 40mm base, and finally on a larger bottle cap. Three metal shields were affixed to the lower bottle cap at 9, 12, and 3 o'clock.

Here is a series of 360° shots. I wanted the to look like aged and petinated bronze on top of a stone pedestal. To get this effect, I used...

Statue and Bronze Elements:
Citadel Warplock Bronze
Citadel Agrax Earshshade
Valejo Brassy Brass
Citadel Agrax Earshshade
Citadel Seraphim Sepia
Citadel Nihilakh Oxide
Citadel Seraphim Sepia

Pedestal:
50/50 Citadel Adaddon Black/Citadel The Fanf
Citadel Nuln Oil
Citadel The Fang
Citadel Fenrisian Grey
Citadel Agrax Earshshade

400th Post: Retconning is a virtue

I'm a day tardy getting this post up, but i'm not opposed to post-dating! :P This an important milestone to recognize... 400 posts!!! What an achievement!

These last 8 years have been a journey. Real Life™ has kicked my butt a number of times over the last 14 years and I have had to back burner this blog. At the pace I try to maintain, I would have hit 400 posts in only 4 years. That said, I am very proud of this accomplishment. Heck, averaging 50 posts a year ain't bad.

But wait, there's more! I have a small showcase to share--A group of  WHFB Wood Elves Glade Guard Winged Fey Forest Creatures, given to me by Lord Grimskull. Whew, what a mouthful.

I don't have a WHFB/AoS Wood Elves army but I figured they could see the battlefield as Dark Heresy alien creatures, Necromunda mutated animals, or even as a stand-in for a small flying creature in D&D. With that in mind, I chose blue-green colors on the figure and a complimentary neutral base color. The figures are based on 20mm MDF round bases.

Thanks for the journey. Hope to see you in 400 more posts!

Dark Heresy Vehicles Showcase

Earlier this month I posted an in progress update on some Rogue Trader era Space marine models titled, Dark Heresy Vehicles WIP. In this post I have the finished models.

This is the first version of the Space Marine bike. As mentioned in the previous post, this has been lightly converted with a new handlebar and saddlebags.

These three Imperial Jet Bikes were used by the Imperial Guard as well as the Space Marines in 1st edition Warhammer 40k. They were phased out around 2nd edition. I chose to paint them in a neutral color and in the same color with the plan to use them as the vehicles for a variety of unified groups--Such as local enforcers, or an organized gang.

DIY Skill Rings

Since 5e came out last year, I now have 3 tournaments and 2 seasons of Blood Bowl under my belt. It has become clear to me how important it is to have skills somehow marked on on the players.

My Blood Bowl figures are clearly numbered and their positions identified with a color ring around the base. I recently started using small colored rubber bands to mark specific skills on players. Even so, both myself and my opponents have occasionally been confusion and made mistakes.

In a few days, I will be participating in an all human league where we draft experienced (with randomized star player points and advancements. With that, keeping track of which player has which skill will be imperative.

For these issues mentioned above, I began looking for solutions. There are a number of skill ring options on the market, as well as some new offerings. However, for me those options were either too expensive, too cumbersome, or unattractive.

So I came up with this idea. Here is the first test. I glued a magnet to a Warmahorde base slightly larger than the player's base. Then I marked off segments according to how many skills the player had.

I really liked how it looked and completed the entire team. Because the magnets on the player's base are not uniformly placed, these skill rings are not universal.

The players removed from the Skills Rings. With numbers to identify which player it goes with.

Greenhaven Packers Showcase

This team was originally purchased and painted in the late 80s. Back then, all of my teams were named and painted like the famous teams in the fluff. This team was no exception--The Greenfield Grasshuggers. However, I now prefer to name my teams after NFL teams in homage to second edition Blood Bowl.

In this go around, in addition to renaming the team and creating a team logo, I touched up the paint, added back number plates, added glossy elements, re-did the bases, and painted a colored ring around the base lip. There are no Star Players represented here. All of my Star Players are painted differently than team colors.

New Team Logo

Since I was not planning on re-painting the team in its entirety, I was limited on which NFL team to base the halflings on. I knew immediately I would base this team off of the Green Bay Packers. Instead of searching the Warhammer Old World map for an appropriate halfling city (are there any? :) ). I eventually chose a suitably sounding halfling community name--Greenhaven.

Coaching Staff

The Coaching Staff from L to R: Head Coach, Assistant Coaches, Apothecary, and Cheerleaders x4.

Linemen

Big Guys

Full Team (front view)

Front Team (back view)

This is the final second edition team that has not been wholly repainted.

Dargoth Cowboys Showcase

This team was originally purchased and painted in the late 80s. Back then, all of my teams were named and painted like the famous teams in the fluff. This team was no exception--The Darkside Cowboys. However, I now prefer to name my teams after NFL teams in homage to second edition Blood Bowl.

In this go around, in addition to renaming the team and creating a team logo, I touched up the paint, added back number plates, added glossy elements, re-did the bases, and painted a colored ring around the base lip. There are no Star Players represented here. All of my Star Players are painted differently than team colors.

New Team Logo

Since I was not planning on re-painting the team in its entirety, I was limited on which NFL team to base the Dark Elves on. I took creative liscense here as I decided to keep the Cowboys team name and searched the Warhammer Old World map for an appropriate Dark Elven city. I eventually chose the watch tower Dargoth on the continent of Naggaroth.
Dargoth and its sister Watchtowers are the size of a city, built to keep the hordes of Chaos that roam the frozen wastelands to the north at bay, and provisioned to withstand years of siege and garrisoned with a great host of Naggaroth's foremost warriors.

Coaching Staff

The Coaching Staff from L to R: Head Coach, Assistant Coaches x3, Apothecary, and Cheerleaders x3. Besides re-basing, the only change here was re-painting the purple trim on the coaches and apothecary.

Linemen

Positionals

Full Team (front view)

Full Team (back view)

This is another attempt to modernize and improve game play with minimal effort.

Peak Pass Stealers Showcase

This team was originally purchased and painted in the late 80s. Back then, all of my teams were named and painted like the famous teams in the fluff. This team was no exception--The Dwarf Warhammers. However, I now prefer to name my teams after NFL teams in homage to second edition Blood Bowl. In fact, I have a post showcasing the Dwarf Warhammers way back in 2009 here. 

In this go around, in addition to renaming the team and creating a team logo, I touched up the paint, added back number plates, added glossy elements, re-did the bases, and painted a colored ring around the base lip. There are no Star Players represented here. All of my Star Players are painted differently than team colors.

New Team Logo

Since I was not planning on re-painting the team in its entirety, I was limited on which NFL team to base the dwarves on. The obvious (and only) choice was the Pittsburgh Stealers. I searched the Warhammer Old World map and chose the home stadium to be in Peak Pass. The Peak Pass is the next most northerly passage across the Worlds Edge Mountains. It is overlooked at its eastern starting point by the greenskin fortress of Gnashrak's Lair, and at its western end by the Dwarf Stronghold of Karak Kadrin.

Coaching Staff

The Coaching staff from L to R: Head Coach, Assistant Coach x2, Apothecary, Cheerleader x3.

Head Coach

Linemen

Positionals

Big Guy

Full Team (front view)

Full Team (back view)

While I didn't completely repaint the team, the 'minor' changes really stand out and help to make game play more clear.

D&D 5e PCs Showcase

I am in a 5e D&D campaign that my buddy Lord Grimskull is running.

My character is a Human (1/4 Orc) Ranger who has been on his own for a long time. Influenced by the sci-fi game I am also in, I wanted to replicate having different ranged weapons for different situation.

So my character has a short bow for melee, and a heavy cross bow for sniping.

The finished piece. I started using a horn for warnings and long range communication in game after I started painting, but I still managed to add a bit last minute.

One of the other players is playing a Half-Elf Paladin. He bought the figure and I offered to convert and paint it for him. He wanted a head swap and here is the picture I sent him of possible options.

Here is the finished model. You can see the new head fits perfectly.