Hydras, Lemons, and Lemonade

This latest project came about a little strangely.
I wanted another Hydra from my IG army so I asked a buddy to pick me up one at Games Day (because apparently that's all they went there to do was buy Forge World stuff). He did and we sat down at our usual Wednesday game night. This one came with the old Chimera Chassis (which the majority of my units are) but I already had one from a defunct Griffon project so I was going to use that one. Instead I absentmindedly assembled the chassis to include adding the cupola to the front. By the time I realized what I had done it was too late to take of the cupola without damaging the model so I decided, what the heck, I'd scratchbuild a third Hydra for a full Squadron of 3. Although I still need to add copious rivets and a lot of detail to the sides of the guns, to include the ammo feeds, here is my progress so far:

Centerminators Complete!

Meet the herd:



Here's Heady:


Chains:


Hooker:


And Skully:

Photographing Miniatures the Cheapskate Way

I (obviously) like taking pics of my work and posting it but not so much that I want to pay money that could otherwise be spent buying even more figs on it. Not all that long ago I finally accepted that you need a decent background to showcase the figure better. To wit, I use a piece of poster board:



$.98 well spent. I originally used white but quickly figured out that blue was a nice neutral color that provided a good contrast as well as context to the figure. Someone better versed on color theory can tell you far more I'm sure. I use the ambient light as a source; not as ideal as using a diffused source but far cheaper (and less work). However, to keep my shots stable, I did invest (okay my family got it for me for my birthday but same thing) in an inexpensive tripod. This has been a Godsend as I no longer have to stack things or jury-rig stable platforms to choose from. Even a basic tripod such as mine has 3 axis that it can be adjusted on providing flexibility when deciding how best to capture detail. Prices range from $15 to $24 for a cheap but versitle tripod.

Centaurminators and Obliterators

Here are the first two Cents-these are the boar Terminators and according to most of the responses I've gotten, the least favorite. I like their compact nature and find the idea of them tromping along on their stubby legs amusing in a chaotic evil sort of way. I'm also pleased with how the various trophies to include skulls and severed heads turned out.





I am also please with how my homegrown obliterators turned out once painted.


The rest of the Cents are primed and basecoated so I should knock those out over the next week or so. Then it's the Freeboota Monthly challenge (Heavy Support) and maybe the Ultramarines for Tots, just to get those off my plate.

Chaos Bikers and Company

Where are the Centaurminators? Before I did them I wanted to practice the paint job on some troops to get it down better. In addition I had my Freebootaz monthly challenge to complete (which meant additional practice). Because of the nature of the monthly challenge (it started with elites) I didn't have a time to work with my Tyranid paint scheme before knocking out the high-value units (i.e. Hive Tyrant).
It goes without saying that these guys are Black Legion. First up, five Chaos Space Marines:


Next up, four bikers:


After this are the Centaurminators and the Obliterators. After that, I'll alternate between troops and terminators probably, plus a second-hand Defiler that is going to need some serious work to bring it up to par, Cypher and a squad of fallen, and a chaos greater demon conversion or two-and that's just the stuff I actually have on hand. I also have two IG Hydras I'm working on, the ground crew, a couple of weapons teams, and at least one Zoanthrope (and let's face it-he'll need a friend or two since they work better in groups), oh and a dreadnaught and squad of Ultramarines I pledged for this year's 40k Radio Toys for Tots project. I'll probably knock those out after the hyras but before the rest of the Chaos stuff, just to get them done with and off my chest.

Chaos Terminators Pt 5 And Friends

The centaruminators are done and ready for primer and painting:



In addition, I have a squad of homemade Chaos Obliterators ready to go:


Third in my cavalcade of Chaos, the Freebootaz Challenge for September is Fast Attck:

I finally found a primer worth the money. My usual standard, Krylon, failed me and went all spotty first time out of the can so I've set that aside for use some time in a modelling project. Instead I bought some Army Painter white primer and so far so good.

Finally, to prove that I have not entirely given myself over to the dark gods, here is my Imperial ground crew, ready to start engines and taxi loyalist Valkyries and other aircraft: