Weekly Finds

Happy Halloween my Imaginary Friends!

Mark of Calth by Apologist from Death of a Rubricist - Such a simple miniature display. Despite the use of only three miniatures it is very easy to identify the source of inspiration.

Red Corsair by Kari from Spiky Rat Pack - I have liked the imagery of the Red Corsair ever since I first saw one of Christian Byrne's miniatures in White Dwarf many years ago. It included a tutorial on sculpting fur onto shoulder pads. My attempts were quickly destroyed to avoid any embarrassment. Something about being Space Pirates just clicked. The work-in-progress pictured below helps reinforce my thoughts of them as Space Pirates.

Weekly Finds #115

Magnetizing Contemptor Weapons and Joints by Drathmere from 40k Hobby Blog - This is one of Forge World's kits that is high on my Gift List. Unfortunately, I've got more than enough to build for a life time. So it won't be added to the never ending collection any time soon. Doesn't stop me from checking out other hobbyists resin crack. The fully painted body can be found here along with some background.

Painting Realistic Fluid Filled Vials by Lucky No. 5 from Eye of Error - A tutorial with four easy steps. This approach could be most useful for Dark Eldar... however, it would work for any miniature with a vial. Obviously if you wanted the liquid free portion of the vial to be transparent then more work would be required. Can also see the latest Pain Engine added to Lucky No. 7's coven here...

Ork Kopta Carrier by Rictus from Recalcitrant Daze - This is a jaw dropping project. Below is the current rivet count. It is a multi story scratch built project using a Bane Blade as the base... and that doesn't give this justice at it will dwarf a Bane Blade. It has some rather unique weapon platforms as well. Orks always have such fun conversions...

Landscaping Projekt Thalassa Prime by Tuskar from dieVincis - This looks very cool. Would be a great backdrop for a Sisters of Battle army. Shame there aren't more WiP pictures... or more details on the construction.

Hobby Products Tested: Army Painter Warpaints by Tuskar from dieVincis - Another review on the Warpaint Inks can be found here by Stahly from Tale of Painters.

Weekly Finds #101

This week has a focus on the Legiones Astartes. Which isn't a great surprise with the Horus Heresy source book being released. I'm still patiently waiting for mine...

New Lord Plaguebone by Morback from Le Blog de Kouzes - This is one hell of a detailed conversion. It has taken me several attempts to work out how the helmet was made... it's a normal Space Marine helmet but from the back. The manreaper looks ridiculously complex with all of the plasticard bits. Hate to think how time consuming it was to build. A stunning centre piece for bind blowing warband...

Creating Metal Effects with Washes by Ron from FTW - Not strictly about the Legiones Astartes. But the content can easily be applied to any army. Another example of using washes on metal can be seen here... shows how coloured washes can have a striking effect and compliment the rest of the palette.

Lamenters Update by Dave Taylor from Dave Taylor Miniatures - The detail to this kit bash is stunning. Both the combi-melta and the left hand involve some intricate detailing. Looking forward to seeing this miniature painted up in Dave Taylor's striking yellow and black scheme.

Ultramarines Sternguard Step-by-step by Arsies from Arsies Studio - This tutorial was including in Volomir's  monthly feature Do Not Miss. I'm not much of a fan of non-metallic metal on power armour. However, I am a fan of this example of non-metallic metal by Arsies.

Imperial Fists Terminators by Bully Boy from Dakka Dakka - Despite having boxes full of miniatures to build I'm always looking for ideas on how to convert miniatures. These terminators with their Maximus styled torsos are just one example. My interest in this relates closely with this Terminator torso by Brother Chaplain Kage. Another great Imperial Fists Terminator conversion is this one by Ice Angel.

Sons of Horus by Sheep from Bolter & Chainsword - Possibly the best Sons of Horus I've seen... most look plain in comparison. However, the conversion and painting are both inspirational. The Sergeant pictured below and this Contemptor Dreadnought are my two favourite elements from this project so far. I'll be keeping an eye on Sheep's work...

Conquer the Universe by The Damned Artificer from Bolter & Chainsword - I'm jealous of this Imperial Fist collection. It's full of unique conversions with bits from all over the place. He even has an old school Land Speeder conversion with a run down of the bits here.

Maximus Armour by Gawain Veteris from Bolter & Chainsword - This tutorial may be of interest to some of my imaginary friends. I know the work on the knee pads interest me. Keep an eye out for further tutorials by Gawain... they look to be promising.

Weekly Finds #100

The 100th post of Weekly Finds. Hard to imagine it has been going on for almost two years now. Over that time the blog has fallen into neglect more than a few times. I've finished University with my first degree, started working full time in a crazy arse Emergency Department and have made my first real steps into adulthood with the purchase of a house. And top top it off, this time next year I'll either be getting married or be on honeymoon... but enough of me reflecting on life. Time to look at what things have caught my attention this week...

Nurgle Cultists Troop Conversion by Ron from FTW - The Forge World Cultists kits look great. And from talking with both Mark Bedford and Jes Goodwin at Games Day Oz it seems like there wasn't much planning in making the Dark Vengeance miniatures matching up... and yet they do. Which goes to show how well defined certain elements of Chaos are. I'm curious to see how Ron goes about building the rest of the squad. The Nurgle Lord from the Fantasy range would look great included in this squad... just need some minor alterations. The Chaos Cultists unit entry from the up coming codex can be found amongst these photos.

WIP Thunderhawk Gunship by Garfy from Tale of Painters - More on Forge World... this time with Garfy's Thunder Hawk. Some time ago he detailed the process of preparing the miniature. Including the rather ingenious use of coat hanger wire to reinforce pieces such as the wings. We now get to watch the process of this huge kit being painted. The use of the white is great at breaking up all of the blue... curious to see if he does some weathering.

Slaughterfiend by Vladvar the Destroyer from Bolter & Chainsword - With the addition of Daemon Engines to the forces of Chaos this conversion will fit in great. Vladvar the Destroyer's Slaughterfiend shares several elements with Forge World's own Slaughterer... especially their Impaler version.

Tutorial: Artscale Terminator by Lamenter from Master of the Forge - It is always enlightening to see how the redonkulously skilled go about working their magic... There is also this article on sculpting that was featured several weeks ago. The armour banding that Lamenter creates may be of interest to those that want to add some chaos styled bands to vehicles and troops. Can also take a look at the tutorial on Artscale Space Marines.

Weekly Finds #95

This last week I've been thinking of ways to add individuality to each of my Black Templars... there are only so many ways you can mix together the Space Marine kits. This is especially true for the now outdated Black Templars Upgrade Kit which offers static poses when compared to the newer Chapter Specific kits. My usual place for inspiration is Mad Matt's collection of Black Templars. However, I wanted to find something different. So I set out into the vast interwebz...

Black Templars High Marshal by Bohun from Cool Mini Or Not - A simple kit bash using Commander Cullen. However, it is the freehand details that draw me in. The entire miniature is covered in it... yet it doesn't look too busy or overcrowded. Something to consider when it comes to painting Independent Characters.

Black Templars Marshal Redeux by Cypher Codicer from Deviant Art - This is a bloody awesome kit bash. The old metal Grey Knight torso works great with the addition of the high collar and the centre piece shield. The collar sort of reminds me of something that Freak Forge did... although this conversion is neater. An earlier Work in Progress of this conversion can be seen here.

Space Marine Chaplain by Ron from FTW - I've featured this conversion in Weekly Finds before. However, it came up in my search and seeing the knee pads got me thinking of the armour on the Ultramarines in the game Space Marines.

Fortress of Anguish by Pizzasemmel from Warseer - The detail work on this Land Raider Crusader is both over the top awesome AND weird. Some elements work great such as the huge banner and the hull mounted flamestorm cannon. While the hurricane bolters look weird with their own little banners. It looks more like a cathedral than a fortress. Pizzasemmel is also responsible for this life size chainsword.

Angels of Vengeance by Brother Chaplain Kage from The Bolter & Chainsword - The torso in this conversion is far too big for my own tastes. However, the style is very knightly and would fit in well with Black Templars. Even better, it offers a way out of having to sculpt tabards. Something I know I'd fail horribly at. Also take a look at this amazing conversion by Chris Borer of his take on the Angels of Vengeance Chapter Master.

Fratricide by Chris Borer from Full Borer Miniatures - This is the sort of inspiration I was looking for. it takes pieces from the standard tactical box set and offers ways to give them individual looks. The chest piece bellow is my favourite element. It uses everything I have in my collection and with some practice is something achievable. Chris Borer is also responsible for this amazing sculpt which was included in the Heroes of Armageddon Project. A must have for any Imperial Guard player.

Black Templar Terminator Squad by Dante77 from Cool Mini Or Not - If I understand the interwebz correctly this is the guy who taught Mad Matt how to paint his Black Templars. The resemblance between the two armies is obvious. However, these Terminator conversions fall flat on their face in comparison to the work of Rune Cast who has been creating Mad Matt's Terminators.

Forge World Large Scale Space Marine by k.ronte from Flagelante Feliz Club - This is an amazing conversion... and it reinforces some observations I've made. Such as sculptors add in more yellow than blue epoxy to their green stuff mix.

White Dwarf 390 June 2012 - Aerial Assault

Inside this month's issue:

Stormtalon Gunship: An official update to Codex: Space Marines. 

Ork Bommer: An official update to Codex: Orks. 

The Battle for Cardrim: Robin Cruddace presents the background to the White Scars' invasion of the war-torn world of Cardrim. 

Ultramarines Stormtalon Gunship: Chad Mierzwa, veteran painter of the Studio's Hobby Team, shows us how to paint the new Stormtalon Gunship in the colours of the Ultramarines Chapter. 

Battle Mission: Scramble: Can you defend the airfield long enough to launch all aircraft? 

Army Project: White Scars vs Evil Sunz: This month Duncan Rhodes and Steve Bowerman show us how to paint to great armies: Space Marines and Orcs. 

Army Project: Orcs & Goblins: Duncan Rhodes revisits his Orcs & Goblins army, showing us how to paint the new Savage Orc Big Boss to add to it. 

You'll also find full details of all the latest releases and news, plus a directory featuring all of the hobby activities in your local area.

Weekly Finds #69

Despite my brain being completely fried from work, I've managed to amass a large collection of twelve articles this week. They range from tutorials on sculpting all the way to the correct movement of vehicles. This week also sees the release of the much awaited expansion for both 'Nids and Space Wolves. It looks like I may be collecting a non-mechanised Space Wolf army... time will tell of course.

Servo Skull Collector by Jakob Rune Nielsen from miniaTEXTures - This miniature oozes with individuality. I can just imagine the servo skull collector being right at home in a John Blanche painting. It even has a small shield on his should like many of Blanche's own miniatures.

Weekly Finds #65

Sculpting Ultramarine Symbol by Garfy from Tale of Painters - The tutorial may be aimed at Ultramarine players. However, it is great for illustrating the importance of planning the process behind the design your trying to sculpt. Something that Ron from FTW has also talked about in the past.

Space Marines - Develop Diary #1

This looks ducking awesome. Seems like Relic has taken the background and worked within it to create something that a lot of us have only had the chance to imagine while reading a Black Library novel or play on the table top. Blood for the blood god! They even managed to say grim dark in the first 30 seconds...

Weekly Finds #9

Last day of the year. And boy has it felt like a roller coaster with its ups and downs. On the hobby front there has been a steady stream of new, and well balanced codices. There is the reliable reports of Grey Knights coming out next year, some time around April, as well as rumour of Black Templars. I've also begun to work on the Victorian Crusade again after almost two years of mostly silence. On a personal note I'm almost finished my first University degree, started a blog which people actually follow and comment on and I've gotten engaged to my high school sweet heart. But onto the last finds of the week for 2010...

Guest Article: Cheap and easy Sanguinary Priest by Keith from Mind War - I've seen this article before over on Heresy Online, but when I saw it again on Mind War, well it had to be included. Wouldn't be a cheap conversion if you didn't have the parts, but if you do it will save you some monies.

Friday Quick Tip: OTT Lite Bulbs by Grey Death from The Painting Corps - Not much chance for me to get my hands on an OTT Lite bulb, but this has encouraged me to go looking for some white-white light bulbs. Also need to get my hand on some more appropriate lamps for painting.

Heavy Bolter Servitor by Brother Captain from The Bolter and Chainsword - This is just brilliant conversion. Instead of heavy bolters could use hunter killer missiles or some Rocker Launchers from the Imperial Guard range to create some cheap count as Devastators.

Repairing Damaged Models by Ron from FTW - Nothing overly exciting about this post, bit it may be helpful for someone out there. Remember to pin your metal miniatures and to use primer on all your miniatures. Also get yourself a decent quality transport case. Games Workshop has theirs, can get yourself a Battlefoam bag or you could go with any number of others like Sable or Feldherr.

4th Company Ultramarines Rhino (freehand motifs) by Side Streaker from 4th Company - I saw this in the latest Tuesday Top Ten by Ryan over at From The Warp. I'm glad that I found it, because the freehand is just stunning.

Colonel Shofer's Mild OCD Model Blog - This entire blog is filled with useful articles from around the blog-o-sphere. Especially everything on making rivets, something that I have been interested in for some time.

I hope everyone has a happy New Years. God Bless!

Spotlight: Winterdyne Commission Modelling

Another Spotlight that looks at a blogger I first discovered on The Bolter & Chainsword. The greatest forum of them all. This time we take a look at Winterdyne...

Dreadnought Vorneus

The above Dreadnought won a participant pin at the 2010 UK Golden Demons. The pictures below will help illustrate why Winterdyne deserves such an honour... and will no doubt get some trophies in the years to come.

Severus’ Bolt Pistol

I recently stumbled across this while taking a look at the Official Ultramarines Movie website.

Rather cool getting to see how Harrison Kris from Volpin Props went about creating this instrument of death and destruction.

Ultramarines The Movie

This is going to be awesome. Fanboi. Not only will it have Ultramarines but it will actually have Imperial Fists. Eat your hearts out dogs, cats and vampires. So below are some videos from the official website and blog...

British accent FTW!!! This short clip is promising that the movie will look decent. However, some of the recent videos like below make the armour look shyt.

Here is a recent video from Games Day 2010...

And just because it has awesome music here is the up-coming Ultramarine game trailer...