Harlequins Progress so far

So, I decided as part of a sort of "tale of (insert whatever) gamers" project here to start Harlequins as an army for 40k.  I've spoken about how they were my first army, I've waxed lyrical about the nostalgia part of painting them, and I've even shown a test model.  Well, as we come to the end of the first month, I thought that I would show the outcome of the first months work (well, nearly, I have 3 days left)

Troupe Master

This is the Troupe Master for the first unit.  Neuro Disrupter and harlequin caress.

As you can see, the rest of the Troupe stuck pretty much to the test pieces colour scheme, with the green and purple halves with yellow and gold accents and black gloves and shoes.  I've stuck with the bone masks despite some ideas regarding making them a more standout colour, as I think a little the contrast with the red in gems etc works ok.  The Shadow Seer, in contrast, will have a completely black mask, at least for the first one I am painting.

 The work so far on the Skyweavers.  These are almost finished, except for some work on the gemstones, and, of course, the riders, who are in progress as we speak.

So that means that I have to finish the crews for the bikes, and the Shadow Seer to make my 1st months commitment.  When I achieve that, I will then move onto month 2, where I will have to decide if I want a gunship or a transport as my first vehicle, and then add some more Skyweavers.  I also need to do some final work on the Batpod for BMG that I said I would do for the manager of the FLGS.

As ever, I would be most interested to hear thoughts, opinions, ideas etc.

Harlequin Test Piece

So, I have finally completed the test piece for my Harlequin colour scheme.  I am fairly happy with the colours, and I think that the green, purple and yellow work together.  I have always painted my Eldar as if they have bone weapons and equipment, and that is not going to change.  I like the idea of weapons grown from wraithbone, and I like the effect.

The bone itself may need another highlight, but given that the initial goal is to get these table ready within a time limit, this will do for now.  I am considering making a set of terrain to go with these, red desert bases with lots of towering wraithbone arches and the like.

Any comments and criticisms are very very welcome.  The plan is that the Troupe Masters will have increased amounts of detailing and patterning on their outfits to mark them out.

A Tale of NextLVL Gamers Month 1

So, as my previous post discussed, we have started a hobby challenge.  So, for the first month, I have purchased, all from LVL Up in Bournemouth,

I thought long and hard about what force to take for this.  For months I have been thinking about trying to start a 40k army, and debated whether I should or not.  I don't actually PLAY 40k at the moment, and my last few experiences of it some time ago were fairly negative, such that I was put off of trying it in future.  I read a lot of news sites, and there is always someone talking about the latest super army.  I don't even know what my local Meta is like, but I do know that I hate games where I might as well not have bothered turning up because I am so outclassed by the forces opposed to me.  I also know that I abhor painting units of models.
Nevertheless, I have been looking longingly at some of the models.  When I was 11 or 12, I got some toy soldiers from my parents.  I already had the Space Marine boxed game, but, of course, everyone I knew was playing 40k instead.  So, one day, I took a long trip up to central London with my Dad, and we went to the Virgin Megastore.  This was back in the day when Virgin Megastore actually stocked roleplaying games, and, from there, was purchased one Eldar Guardians box set, and one of the original Harlequin Boxes.  Of course, I had no rules for these (all I had at the time was a copy of Rogue Trader, purchased whilst I was on Holiday in Derbyshire, on a visit to Nottingham where I was also given my first copies of AD&D by my Uncle Robert and Aunt Margaret).  But eventually, I ended up with the rules, and the Harlequins were my first 40K army, and remained my ONLY army until I got the 2nd Ed starter set and decided to play Orks.  (at a grand opening of the Romford Store, not long after I passed my GCSE's)

So, for all sorts of nostalgic reasons, I want a Harlequin army, and this gives me a reason.  I have no idea what they play like, and they may never make it to the battlefield.  But, they should provide a pretty, force, and a link back to my past.

For Month One, I have purchased

Harlequin Troupe Box Set
Harlequin ShadowSeer
Harlequin Jet Bike Box Set.

So far, I have assembled and undercoated the infantry from the boxes.  The jetbikes will be my reward for finishing painting the normal troupe members.

A Tale of NextLVL Gamers

So, following a random comment on the Facebook by the owner of our FLGS, I agreed/decided/went ahead and organised a challenge based around the Tale of Four Gamers that has been done originally in White Dwarf.  I know it's not original, I know that at any time there are hundreds of these running on blogs all over the internet, but this one is ours, and should be a good way to motivate the few of us that were interested to paint some models and have some fun.  We decided that we weren't going to limit ourselves to one system, and so we have people signed up for 40K, DZC, and Batman.  Its still in its infancy, but at least we have a challenge.  The rules are below.

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A hobby challenge for all of us.

Objective - Some friendly competition amongst a group of players aiming to build some forces for tabletop games.

Plan - Starting with a force of up to £50 value, unpainted (but may be assembled), and increasing it by £25 worth of models each month, aiming to have completed each section by the time the month ends.  If your force is worth more than that months value for some reason (starter boxes costing more, etc), you can spread it over several months, and get all of the points available when you complete it.  At the end of the period, we shall see who has the most points - and thus bragging rights.

Points

1-Participation - have purchased/added £25 of models in a month 

2-Preparation - Models are assembled/undercoated

3-Painting - All of the models in that months section are painted

1-Playing - Each game you play with a force made up of that months models (ideally alone, or as part of a larger force) Max 3 per month

1-Posting - Each blog post/facebook post/engraving on stone tablets about your models and your progress (Maximum of 2 per month)

1-Pictures - Each one of the above gains you an extra point if there are pictures to support it (Max 2/month)

2-Player Choice - Each month, we could have a vote as to who's force is currently your favourite, be it best designed, best painted, whatever (we could change it each month)

This means that there are a maximum of 15 points per month available.

Killer Frost

So, I finished up my Killer Frost.  This was completed for the manager of my FLGS, with a view to him paying me a small amount in compensation, the first time anyone has ever paid me to paint anything.  Not sure how I feel about this, as I love painting (however badly) and this gives me the oppportunity to paint something completely different.  So, without further ado, some pictures.

Currently, on the desk either in progress or waiting to be started, in no particular order are
The Lone Swordsman, and two Thunder Archers for Malifaux
Batpod (half assembled, and needing a lot of cleanup and figuring out where the handlebars actually fit) plus Jokers daughter, catwoman, and a wonderland crew
A surprise present for someone who shall remain nameless, and be a bit shocked when they get it (I hope)
The first in what will hopefully be a new project (a modern Infinity/Batman table).  My first scratchbuilt building for a while.

Any comments on the models painted, or what I should do next most welcome.

Finished Green Arrow

So I finished the Green Arrow that I was painting for my local FLGS (LVL UP) manager.  At his request, the base was left undecorated and unpainted so that he can match it to the crew that he already has.  Of interest, it was finished and I am told that he is going to be using it in his game of shifting loyalties tonight.

I'm quite pleased with the way this turned out, and it seems like Marcus was pleased with it as well.  Next up, is finishing the Killer Frost pictured before, and then starting work on a Wonderland Gang.

    I've changed some of how I am working whilst I was using this.  I have taken to using "wet" water (water with a tiny amount of washing up liquid to break up the surface tension) for diluting paints.  I THINK that  this is helping, but how much is the placebo effect, I can't honestly say.

    I have also just got some brush cleaner.  Cheap stuff from Hobbycraft, but its interesting to see already how much colour it gets out of brushes I previously thought were clean.

    The upshot of all of this is, of course, that I now have up to 4 open containers of fluid on my desk at one time (Wet water, water for pre brush cleaner cleaning of brushes, brush cleaner, and water for post brush cleaner rinsing).  This does make me a little nervous, given that my desk sits above my PC.

Tomorrow night is the Vampire:The Masquerade game that I run at the local store.  Hopefully, should be fun, and usually inspires me to do a little more painting when I get home.  Until then, its Mass Effect 2 and finishing Killer Frost.

As ever, comments and suggestions are more than welcome (I should be so lucky)

(Not) Batman

So my painting has been a little bit slowed down by work being busy, early nights, and starting to play through the Mass Effect series of games again.  I've mostly been working on Killer Frost and Green Arrow.

Killer Frost continues my theme of Batman models that appeal to me from an aesthetic point of view.  I don't play the game, and therefore my choices are purely based on what I feel like painting.  

    I started the process by cleaning up the model, assembling it  and undercoating it with Army Painter White Spray.  I don't know whether it is that I have gotten too used to plastics, or the high quality of Wyrd Models, but I am finding that the casting quality on these, in particular misaligned molds and flash to be quite bad.  Once it was cleaned up enough to pass, I then Washed the whole thing with Gulliman Blue, since I have found that these models benefit from a guide coat of paint to help pick out the details from the white undercoat.  The skin was then base coated with Genestealer Purple, in several thin coats, before being washed with Druchi Violet.

The skin was then worked up adding more and more White scar to the mix and blending it in, until I was happy with the result, which looks smoother in person than it does in the photo.  The final step with her so far has been to use Teclis Blue to paint the fabric, which has again been highlighted up, not shown.

The other model that has occupied my time is a first for me.  I have agreed to paint Green Arrow for the manager of my FLGS.  Its the first time I have done this, where I have had no input in which model I am going to paint. So far, it is progressing reasonably well, with the skin and the undersuit done, and the base colour down on the armour.  I've experimented with trying to shade the dark green with red, and it seems to have given the result I am hoping for, and will hopefully give some contrast to the brighter green parts.  Anyway, some photos of the progress to date.

 As always, any thoughts are more than welcome