30K Heavy Weapons and Scout Repaints

Knocked out the last of my 30K Heavy Weapons (for now). I will need to get a shot of them all together for ego purposes at some time in the near future:



I also repurposed some scouts I had converted for 30K. When I first started this project there were no army lists available so I just converted troops using the 5th ed rules as a base. As it turned out there are not scouts like we see them in 40k so these guys were left in the lurch. Fortunately, I needed scouts for my Dark Angels so a few dabs of Dark Angels Green later and they have sucessfully jumped ship:

Sternguard and 30K

This week I knocked out some Sternguard. I had previously converted some of my own but I recently purchased the boxed set from a friend on a whim and used some spare bits to expand it out to six rather than the five that come with the set:



I also worked on my low-budget 30K heavy weapons squad. Rather than dump a ton of money to Forge World (it's not that I don't love you guys but shipping is murder) I used my 2nd Edition figures to good use; they are already archaic and similarly dissimilar to the later heavy weapon troops. Plus the armor type with all the decorations is vague enough that it resembles some of the art in the Visions of Heresy books. Good enough for me. I have a couple already painted so this brings me up to a squad of six.



Lastly, I have an old Captain figure that I have repainted three or four times now, and a classic thud gun that can be used in either my 30K army or Imperial Guard (or Astra Militia or whatever they are called now):



Up next is more 30K heavy weapons and some repurposed scouts.

Also, big news that I cannot reveal for now but more in the next month or so if all goes as planned.

Even "Free" Has its Limits

I would like to officially announce that I am done with the Coke bottle cap crates. Don't get me wrong, they are cheap and addictive to make but painting them is tedious and I am out of inspiration. With this batch, I am done for the foreseeable future.

March In Like a Lamb, out Like a, er Platypus or Something

First out the door this month is my Stalker/Hunter:



And some nifty scenery from Antenocity's Workshop:


And a Servitor of questionable loyalty (I designed it to be traitor guard but could also be mechanicus or an inquisitorial ally):

Back To Ultramar

To finish February I finally got my Stormraven done:



I also equipped a command squad with some shields from Anvil Industries. They can also double as breachers should the opportunity arise:



Next up is my AAA Rhino and some terrain pieces.

Here Are Some Damned Miniatures

My February Freebootaz Challenge: Legion of the Damned





Also some Tac Squad Specialist tradeouts:


This episode was brought to you by Anvil Industries who did the great skull heads for the LoTD. I liked the green flames vice the usual color because it makes them more spectral.

Next up are my Command Squad Sheild bubbas and then maybe I'll finally start the Stormraven.
Incidentally, not quite two full months into the year and 99 figs done. Not a bad start.

First Projects of the Year

After spending a month in lovely Las Cruces, NM for work I have accomplished the following:

Finished off my Dark Angels:







(24 GW figs)

Did up some RPG figures for a friend of mine:



(40 random figs-One figure is missing from the picture because I had to re-do his base)

And snuck in some other figs for him that had been given to me (that I was never going to use-great way to pass it forward).





(24 more figs)

Lessons learned:

I hate the Bones figs. They are inexpensive and I recognize the attraction of that. They are great if just having figs on the table is what is important to you. Painting them is a pain in the neck and a lot of detail on them was lost. In essence, you are getting what you paid for. If they are what you want to use, more power to you but I did not like how they came out. There is a universal "mushiness" (I can't describe it better than that) and they are extremely soft. Again, not trying to talk anyone else out of buying them but just not for me.

What is 25mm has shifted but so has the quality of the figures. Some of the guys dated back to the 80's and early 90's and it was fun seeing the cultural influences on them.

I have no real conception of skin tone. My friend gave me a painting guide but I had to look up many of his descriptions on the internet. Don't get me wrong-I'm not complaining at all. It was great to research what he was looking for and try to recreate it. I hope my work was close to what he was looking for.

Next up in the hopper is a couple of Ultramarine special weapons guys and my Legion of the Damned.