Next on the evolutionary line... gaunts!

Everyone loves gaunts. Actually that's not true. Everyone hates gaunts. Whether it be hormies or termies, they're just not loved by anyone. My opponents hate them because there are so many of them, and they have so many attacks! I hate them because there are so many of them, and I have to paint each and every one to a decent standard or I will cringe every time I see them!

That being said, the hormagaunts were painted during the internet outage last winter, and as such where finished quite swiftly and painlessly. There were only 16 of them, and while I feel I should definitely pick up another box, I do not look forward to painting another 16 of them. We shall see. In any case, here are the little buggers. Stabby stabby.

 

The Termagaunts were finished at a much later time, actually during this fall. So almost 9 months after their Hormagaunt cousins. I had volunteered to partake in an exhibition match against Chaos Marines at my university, to promote the Warhammer Club and try to get some more members. Before the game started though, we had some time to sit and paint, and chat with people coming by our stand to look at our miniatures and ask what it all was about. I got in a good deal of painting that morning, having basecoated all of them beforehand. Since my colourscheme is mostly drybrushing, it does go fast to paint, it's the cleaning and filing beforehand that takes time.

A few days after the exhibition match, I had finished all the termies I owned. It was rather the same feeling as with the hormies, I loved how they performed in battle, but there was just so much cleaning involved in a squad I wasn't looking forward to another (though at this point in time, I actually do have a box ready and waiting). Here they are, in any case, for your viewing pleasure. I also realize I failed to mention it in my earlier posts, but comments and criticisms are welcome!

Let's start small...

So, as mentioned, I was now totally into Tyranids. I started by purchasing an army box, the one with 3 Warriors, 16 Termagaunts and 16 Hormagaunts. It's probably no longer even available. I then started by leaving said box alone for quite some time, painting a few Grey Knights (which I might show later), trying out Imperial Guard, but one fateful day last winter, the internet went out in my crummy apartment.
It was out for a total of three days, and I thought I was going to lose my mind. However, during my boredom I found my brand new box of Tyranids, and having saved the article mentioned earlier, I started painting. Now, I didn't start with the Ripper swarms, I believe the first miniatures to be completed was a squad of 3 Warriors. But for this blog's sake, I am starting with my little Ripper swarms. I do like these chaps. They pack a serious punch, especially when upgraded a bit. And they're great for keeping your opponent locked in combat so you can focus on other things.
I found them fun and easy to paint, albeit a little fiddly, but I managed nonetheless to paint a whopping 7 of them in a day. Here they are in their tiny but furious glory.

Introducing Hive Fleet Fury

Well, I have a confession to make. I have not been working on my Carcharodons, in fact I have now either sold off or dismantled almost every miniature I had in my space marine army. I like to think of it as they being off on some distant crusade outside our own galaxy. Who knows when or if they'll return! Perhaps when I'm richer and can afford those lovely Forgeworld miniatures the Carcharodons deserve.

In any case, in my hunger and thirst for more to build and paint, I turned to a new army, influenced by the shiny new figures Games Workshop was pumping out, and the shiny new codex. Also a close friend was a fellow hive minder, but more on that later. I settled on Tyranids as my new army, an army I'd really liked for some time, but never had started on for a very simple reason, albeit one you'll find is quite common for me, I had no idea how to paint them. For some reason I never liked the two-colour 'nids you see in every army. Sure, some of them are done well, even to the point of inducing minor nerdgasms, but still. Some of the finest I'd seen were airbrushed and absolutely stunning one-colour armies, but nothing I could ever hope to replicate.

Until now. I do read the Games Workshop blog from time to time, and was fortunate to come across a Tyranid article where some poor chap who's name I've quite forgotten was featured with his Hive Fleet Fury. What caught my eye, was his fabulous paintjob, and especially the basic recipe in the article! It stated which colours to use and how, in what order. I did save a few of the pictures from the article, so here they are, not my miniatures, which will follow later, but the ones of the creator of Hive Fleet Fury that inspired me to start collecting Tyranids.

Norse Chaos Warriors

I've long wanted to make a Norse army out of the awesome Chaos warriors, but I knew my greenstuff skills weren't that good. When the new dwarf boxes were released I mostly ignored them,but came across them in the store a week ago. I instantly thought the ironbreaker heads might just work to make up awesome viking style warriors, so I bought a box and gave it a try. Here's the first of my attempts.

Necrons

Well, me being me, I quickly got distracted from my storm troopers, despite purchasing four boxes. They are fiddly to paint. Alas. So they're on hold for now.
My roommate has a bunch of scandalously painted necrons, so I liberated them. After some browsing I decided on a bone scheme, while sticking to the green color. I also decided to break my nmm only rule, and throw in a tiny bit of metallics on the joints and gun. Overall, I am quite pleased with the results.

Militarum Tempestus Scions

With the new Stormtroopers army out, and rather nice miniatures in plastic to boot, I've decided to put my marines in the drawer for now, and try out some of my favourite Imperial Guardsmen, the Militarum Tempestus. A ridiculous name imo, but whatever. The miniatures are pretty darn good, except for the stupid ornate edging on the armor. I mean seriously, wtf. No way I'm letting my high-tech stormtroopers go into battle with plain metal armor.

Fortunately, it was quite easily remedied by filing away the insulting edges, and has the added bonus of making them look a little battered if you are a little rough on filing. Anyway, after trying out several paintschemes and crying in frustration as none of them looked good, I settled on the one that caught my eye in the armybook in the first place, the Psian Jakals. Something about the whole red lense/skull theme was rather pleasing, fitting with my image of highly trained and well-equipped soldiers of the Imperium. So, after finally finishing one, here he is for your viewing pleasure.

Headfirst into truescale...

Well, as the title says, I've been gone for some time. I've been incredibly busy with studies, moving across the country twice, and life in general. My minis have really been on hold for a while. When I opened up my old Carcharodons box, I found quite a few of them had come apart, or broken off pieces. Somewhat disappointed, I scavenged what I could, and decided to start fresh. This time my main inspiration was Teemu Valve's army, found here: GW Blog. I absolutely loved what he had done with them, and realized that while my minis were ok, they were simply not good enough.

I logged on to eBay, and ordered 20 terminator legs. I then purchased two boxes of the shiny new Tactical Squads, and ordered some 30mm bases from Heresy Miniatures. After a couple of weeks, I had everything to start out my new quest, truescale Carcharodons Astra.

Now, given that I don't have that many bits, these 'regular' marines are not quite as 'hands-on' as Carcharodons generally would be, however I really do love the new big look. My roommate (an avid Ultramarines collector) thinks they look a little out of proportion, though I feel I've covered that up nicely by giving them lots of pouches and grenades. Maybe he's just jealous. :) Anyway, as soon as my camera starts behaving, I will add more pics, for now enjoy one of the first I made, Squad Leader Valander.

After Space Hulk comes.. Space Wolf?

Eurogamer: Another Warhammer 40K game for PC, iOS, Android. http://google.com/producer/s/CBIwsv_G_QI

Nothing new at the moment, though I decided to post up a picture of my completed ironclad dreadnought. He's been based and is ready for combat!

Terminator Command Squad

Well, I know it's been a long time since I last posted. In truth, I've started college, and it's taking a lot of my time. However, I am still driven to paint my beloved Carcharodons, and today I have something nice for you all.

I'd like to present my terminator command squad, mostly based off Space Hulk terminators, with some bits from the regular space marine command squad, and the Grey Knights. These are not 100% completed, as the white shark emblem hasn't been added to the shoulders, nor has the banner been done. I've recently acquired a sheet of transfers from Forgeworld, so I'll be redoing all my minis at some point and using purity seal to finish 'em up.

As always, comments and criticisms are welcome!

Group Shot

Medic

 

Veteran Sergeant

Company Standard Bearer

Company Champion

Veteran Specialist