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Happy Monday chaps, I hope you are all well! Just a quick post from me this week – it has been a bit of a funny one on the hobby front… Firstly, and probably most significantly, I didn’t make it to Salute this year. A prior (and distinctly underwhelming) commitment prevented my attendance. Secondly, the same commitment kept me away from a GW store until late in the day, so I missed out on all the ‘happy birthday dear Space Marine’ goodies… I really, really wanted the book and the mini… I was extremely lucky, and was able to pick up the Marine from a friend, but no chance on the book :-/
It has also been a bit funny on the painting front… funny as in ‘I haven’t painted any minis this week’! I did finish off the sculpting for this guy (really going for the Mean Machine look here), and got him undercoated:
The undercoat looks a bit weird because I’m trying a technique I have read about – he got a black undercoat with a white zenith undercoat sprayed on top of the wet black spray… He’s ready for some paint to go on, but he’ll have to wait a bit because I’ve got this lot to finish up:
This is a set of ‘Barbarian Huts’ from Scotia Grendel Productions, and is a bit of an indulgence if I am honest… I wanted some scenery for my Techno-barbarians, but didn’t want to go all ash-waste/mad max with it. The buildings are solid blocks of resin, and they took some cleaning up and a bit of repair here and there, but the overall quality and detail is pretty darn good! I’ve embellished the huts with a scattering of 40K bits and bobs, made repairs where needed, and applied the base coat thus far. I also pushed ahead and finish up the ‘Barbarian King’s Longhouse’ to nail down the look. It is the biggest and most complex piece, and I’m pretty chuffed with how it came out. I had great fun with the lichen and moss on the stonework, and I shamelessly stole the ‘bloody handprint’ idea from Krautscientist and his excellent Chaos Knight, the Warrior King ‘Gilgamesh’. I imagine the warriors of the Azmaa ritually cutting their hands and adding their prints for luck as they head off to battle… “Witness Me!!!” Anyhow, here it is, along with some minis for scale:
I’ll be cracking on with the rest of the village this week – the aim is to have them done by Sunday. After that, things are going to get a bit weird because we’ve got the builders in and the bulk of the house will be unusable for quite some time… Not sure how it is all going to pan out as yet, but I suspect that life, (and therefore hobby), is going to be a bit disjointed for a while. We’ll see how it goes :-)
Leadballoony - It's a lead thing 
Whoa! That longhouse is rocking man. Love the tusks and the blood. The new model is shaping up nicely. He looks very mean. Not sure if I’ve asked this already but where did you get the drill from? I’m working on some Pit Fighters and have used mechanical tools from Orks but they are on the largish side. They kind of work but Id like an array of tools to choose from. Excellent work as always. I can’t wait to see the mean machine painted.
Thanks mate – yeah, I’m really pleased with how it came out! I’m on record as saying I don’t like doing scenery, but I’m enjoying it more and more these days :-)
When you say ‘the drill’, are you talking about his left arm? If so, that is supposed to be a mounting point for another mechanical arm, not a drill :-) (I’m actually thinking I can make a range of arms with drilled out sockets to fit!)
Anyhow, it’s just made with odds and sods from the bits box.
Ahhh ok. Well it looks cool. I quite enjoy making terrain but I find I have to be in the mood for it. I’ve got a large modular board in the works. I’m also considering a graveyard and gallows for my Judicators project.
That sounds good mate – you should pick up the GW ‘Garden of Morr’ before they retire it! (I heard that they are winding up all the old WH Fantasy scenery)
Wow. Never heard of this before. Pretty cheap for what you get. Think I’ll visit a store this week. Cheers mate.
I agree with Mr Imperial too, that terrain is way cool!
I’ve never heard of that specific zenith technique where you spray over “wet” paint. I’m interested to see how it turns out.
Your terrain & minis are really unique. I’d be really chuffed to be able to game with it/them & you :)
Cheers Balloony.
Thanks mate, and yeah, I’m interested to see how it turn out too! :-)
Likewise, I’d be happy to set up a game once my house is back together again… I’m in Hertfordshire, where abouts are you?
Not far, Southeast Asia :)
haha – yeah… that would be a challenge :-)
Only logistically, financially & geographically….no biggy ;)
True enough :-) Someone really needs to invent the teleporter…
Or move the continents closer together, whichever is easier.
Great stuff, Alex. I remember those huts from back in the day, and they’ve come up very nicely indeed, and very appropriate for your growing frostgrave-ish warband. Mean Machine is looking great as well – what sculpting did you do on him?
Thanks dude, they do go well together don’t they? I think they would work quite well with Orks too… I’ll probably scratch build a few other bits as well – a water tower, some kind of scrap wind turbine, cooking fire, stuff like that… just a few bits to techno the set up a little.
I just tried a little Greenstuff on Mean – not much work really, a bit of filling here and there, and the stuff on the head… I hope it comes out ok – I’m relying on rust and corrosion to hide any roughness in the sculpting :-)
Really cool terrain! I’m too boring and only have gw terrain. I really should go out and explore more :)
It’s a big universe mate ;-)
Mean machine looks really cool. Great work!
Thanks mate, I’m pretty chuffed with him :-)
And so you should be … superb.
Loving Mean Machine. I think my favorite part is that it’s not immediately clear what horrible devices are on his arms. Really ups the creepiness factor.
Thanks dude – I’m really looking painting him, if I can find a place to paint while the builders are in! :-/
You know what’s a deceptively good place to paint? The bathroom, provided you have a bit of counter space. You’ve got all you need, really. Running water, good overhead light, and a toilet to use as a seat. Don’t even get me started on how nice it is to leisurely work on a model when nature calls and you have to commit 20 minutes or so to the bathroom anyway.
Okay so maybe it’s a stretch but it worked for me on at least two occasions.
Oh man, genius – and you’re never stuck for a yellow wash either! Seriously, I think my wife would divorce me if I occupied the bathroom… I suspect I’ll end up painting in the shed for the duration…
Mean Machine is…….. well looking mean :) Good work and the scenery is the bomb!
Thanks mate, on both counts :-)
Woooo, those are amazing!!! :O
Thanks dude, I’d quite like a full sized one in the garden :-) First, I’d have to acquire scratch-build ninja skills like the ones you used on your latest project!