Finescale Begins!

Astorath the Grim is my first foray into the world of Citadel Finescale. I picked the model up this past saturday in the interest of seeing the quality of the new plastic resin GW is putting forth as well as finally treating myself to a model I've wanted for w while. I've worked with resin models before, as anyone who has read this blog knows, so I definitely didn't feel like a newb in that respect. However, I was under the impression that Finescale used different resin than Forgeworld, so I was definitely interested to see. Truth be told, Forgeworld uses different resins to cast different things, and the Finescale resin is one such type.



Like other resin models, I made sure to wash it in warm, soapy water to make sure the release is all off. nothing stinks more than having paint pool away from the surface because the release won't let the paint adhere. Astorath had a decent amount of flash on it, theough probably about the same amount of flash as a pewter model would have, just not a lot of pointy doodads sticking out from it. Instead, you have to inspect all of the mold lines, as weel as look for bubble and places where the flash has caused irregularities in the model. make sure you dry fit the slots into the bases before glueing, I made that mistake and ended up chopping the tab off. Of course, with the lighter resin, you don't really need the tab to keep it on the base.



Assembly of the model went quick, which is a huge advantage over pewter, as I had started using accelerant most of the time, and that usually creates a weaker bond. Still, one needs to make sure they dry fit all of the parts still, as the wings needed some extra sanding and finessing to fit onto the jump pack. This will also help make sure you aren't glueing out of order, as I originally had intended to glue Astorath to his jump pack first, and that would have made putting the wings on much more awkward.

Ultramarines 9th Company

The 9th Company of the Ultramarines is probably my favorite. For one thing, it is an all devestator squad company, and sadly, I really like playing a static army that will just sit back and shoot you apart. Plus, the company banner has a big nuclear explosion depicted on it. What's not to like? Well, like the 8th company, there is a lot of work to do for this company. A couple of the squads need touching up and highlighting, and again, all of the bases need to be at least black rimmed, if not made uniform. I also have all of the rhinos for the company, just haven't had time to dig them out and photo them.

Grey Knight Terminators

My first troop choice for the Grey Knights is a terminator squad. I like the idea of the inverse troops, with the Terminators being the main line force, and the fact that they teleport deep strike kind of fits the theme I want to have with the Interceptors, and the Dreadknight with personal teleporter.



I built these guys with halberds mainly, as I like the initiative bonus. I also added a psycannon to add to the shooting power of the army. To continue with the Nurgle infestation theme, I added chaosy bitz from mutation spure to the bases, and posed them as eruptions of the sort, as if the planet were attacking the Grey Knights.



I used the same palette for the terminators as I did for the Interceptors. At some point I want to add greenish yellow flock to add a blighted ground effect as well, but I haven't made the purchases yet, so look for that in the future.

Grey Knight Interceptor Squad

Ever since I first read through the Grey Knight's codex, I felt drawn to the Interceptor squad. More than any other element in the army, this is what i wanted to build my force around. I knew I would fill at least two Fast Attack choices with them, and probably the third with a Storm Raven. I also liked the fact that the Dreadknight could have one as well, which would enhance the feel of the army.



To go back to my theme of the Hunt for Delgar, I made sure to use the Plague Bearer impaled head bit for my Justicar, and to stick to a muddy base color. I used P3 Traitor Green, a wash of Baal Red, P3 Cryx Bane Basecoat, a wash of Thraka Green and a final layer of P3 Cryx Bane Highlight for all my Nurgle embellishments.



For the Grey Knights themselves, I used my normal methods for painting silver, and gold. I add some P3 reds back into my collection, so that the reds were done with layers of P3 Sanguinary Base, Sanguinary Highlight, Khador Red Base and Khador Red Highlight (the last two are essentially GW Blood Red and Blazing Orange). The Nemesis Force Weapon blades were painted with layers of Regal Blue, P3 Meredius Blue and P3 Arcane Blue.



All in all, I enjoyed painting the new Grey Knights. I kept to a minimalist execution with my builds, there are so many detailed bitz that one could easily go crazy. Watch for some GK bitz to start making appearances in my other marine armies.

Black Consul's Captain

With this model, I've come back to my Black Consuls army. While it is still under 500 points, I plan to finish it up soon. This army picks up on the blurb from the Space Marine codex pertaining to the supposed destruction of the Black Consuls. I decided this would be a neat way to build an army like the Crimson Fists, with lots of scouts and a small cadre of veterans training them.



This captain is only the second power armored model in my Black Consul's force. I built him using Sanguinary Guard bitz and add a cloak with green stuff. After that, the model was primed black, then I used my standard layers for all of the colors. It was an easy model to paint, because of the limited pallet choice.



The one thing I wanted to convey with this model, is that he is an experienced, older marine. Possibly before the tragedy the Black Consuls endured, he would have been relegated to non combat duties, but necessity has forced him back into action. I mainly gave him grey hair to convey this.

Ultramarines 8th Company

Of all of the elements in my Ultramarines army, I feel like my 8th company is the most raw. For one thing, it contains models from my first Ultramarines army. They have been repainted a couple of times, but are still around. I also wanted to add more jump pack assault squads, so that there are six now, instead of the three I used to have. I still wanted to have non-jump pack assault squads for drop pod assault purposes. Another element that needs tweaking are the bases, not all of them have the black rims, and some are grey, some are brown. Future projects there will keep me busy with the Ultramarines for a while. In the meantime, enjoy the photostream, it has more 8th company picks of each squad.

Age of Darkness

There are seven years between the Dropsite Massacre and the Battle of Terra. Age of Darkness begins offering up the first snatches of what is going on in the Imperium during that time. The Horus Heresy reader, now has only a few events to look forward to seeing in print, Signus Prime, Calth (though we have seen snatches) and the Battle of Terra itself. Every short story in this collection is worth reading, and has a baring on what comes after. Definitely a must have for the HH fan. Casuals readers who haven't read all of the books, or at least haven't read the key plot related ones may feel the gaps while reading this collection, but each short story is nicely self contained. I think in this book, we see the selected BL authors who are taking part finally hitting their stride on the series.

Stylish Blogger Award

I would like to thank HuronBH from Blood and Blades for nominating me for a Stylish Blogger Award. It's nice to feel the love.

Here are the rules:
-- Thank and link back to the person giving you the award (see above)
-- Share seven things about yourself
-- Select 10-15 blogs who you think deserve this award
-- Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award


Here are seven things about me which may or may not have been shared:

1) I have a BA in English Literature and Language. I love reading, in fact I am pretty voracious about it. I prefer Science Fiction and Fantasy, though I also read some of every genre. I try to read at least one classic out of every ten or so books I do pick up.

2)I have an almost nine month old daughter, who I have plans to groom into a stupendous modeller and 40k player. My wife may or may not be aware of this, if not, cat's out of the bag.

3)U2, Peter Gabriel, James Taylor and Bruce Hornsby are my favorite musicians. Sure they are mostly laid back music, but I was deep into metal as a kid, so I guess it balances out.

4) I have aspirations of being a fictional writer, and feel like i have a lot of great ideas, I just need to develop them better and learn to discipline myself so that i can craft my work. It's a life goal. Frank McCourt is a great inspiration there, his first book was published at 65 (or so) and became a nation wide hit thanks to Oprah. Too bad I won't be able to rely on a boost from her.

5)I love all things Ultramarines. It may be noticeable, considering I have the whole chapter and all (yes, more pics are coming as I finish up some projects on my painting table).

6)I am often in too much of a rush to get a job done, which cane lead to sloppy mistakes.

7) While I have a large library (by personal standards), I have recently realized it takes up too much space. I have decided to pick up an e-reader sometime soon to counteract this. Ironic, because I was originally against it for aesthetic reasons.

I don't really know to many bloggers out in the multiverse, but of the ones I follow, these are the ones I visit most often:

Blood and Blades
Warpstone Pile
the Dead Tau Project
Mongoose Blog
White Rabbit's Legendary Blog
Ten Inch Template
Heresy Workshop
Military of Ultramar
The Storm Bolter and Power Fist
The Bridge of Khazad-Dum

If you haven't seen any of these blogs, check them out, they are enjoyable.

Aaron Dembski-Bowden's Blood Reaver

Blood Reaver, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden is the second in the Night Lords trilogy that ADB is currently working on. This novel takes place after Soul hunter, and has the Night Lords heading to Hell's Iris, in the Maelstrom, where they need to make vital repairs on their ship. What follows is a more in depth look at the Battle of Vilamus, which fans of the Chaos Space Marine codex will remember with rare pleasure. This is a worthy sequel for ADB, and is definately an enjoyable read. While not my favorite BL novelist, he is definitely one of the better ones. If you liked Soul Hunter, you will love this novel. If you haven't read either, what are you waiting for, a new CS Goto book?

Gav Thorpe's Caledor

Gav Thorpe's Caledor is the final book in the Sundering Trilogy, which tells the story of the fall of Malekith and the civil war which tears the Elves of Ulthuan apart. This is a fitting end for the trilogy, while it is not mind blowing, it tells the final chapter well, and brings together the view points of all three protagonists, Malekith, Alith Anar, and Caledor. The final chapters are really where Thorpe's story really shines, adding depth to those final moments. A good book, worth buying for anyone who has started the series. If you haven't give it a read, it is quite entertaining.

Flesh Tearers Captain

I once read someone saying "Guard armies are never finished, they just get reinforcements." I feel the same way about any army. For one thing, GW is always making new models, and more and more they have really awesome, detailed bitz. They new Grey Knights are a great example of this. I wish they had been around when I built my Ultramarines chapter. At any rate, I decided that, with the Executioners done to a 1500 point level, I would go back and add something new to my Flesh Tearers, thus the Captain I am showing off today.



I built the model using regular power armor legs, a Sanguinary guard torso, power weapon, shoulder pad and head, and a fusion pistol and back pack from the Death Company boxed set. He also has a Flesh Tearers shoulder pad. I then sculpted a cloak for him using green stuff. The base has a blend of fine and coarse ballast and a piece of brass etched from the 40k basing kit.



Finally, I painted him with a base coat of P3 Sanguinary Base, followed by P3 Sanguinary highlight, Scab Red and an extreme highlight of Blood Red. I painted the black areas with Chaos Black, P3 Coal Black and an extreme highlight of Codex Grey. The gold is Dwarven Bronze, Devlan Mud, Shining Gold, and Burnished Gold. Finally, the silver is Boltgun Metal, Devlan Mud and Chainmail.