#MonsterMarch7 - To DONE!

 

Greetings and welcome back.  Today I share my completed #MonsterMarch7 project - Lion E;'Jonson of the Dark Angels Legion as seen in the age of the Horus Heresy, bringing the Emperor's justice to the Night Lords during the Thramas Crusade.I've been interested in and collecting Dark Angels models since 3rd edition Warhammer 40,000...I guess that's form the late 90's?  I dunno...a long time.  So this project, for me, is like 25 years in the making.  Yes, I took the coward's path and painted mostly according to the Forge World studio art. But man, I'm super stoked to have this model completed in my collection. It makes my 20-something self proud, even as my 50-something self feels a little foolish at the whole thing. 😂

The project was not without it's hiccups.  I guess no large project ever is in this hobby.  In the final hours, I applied the matte varnish to seal all of my hard work. And the rocks of the diorama inexplicably reacted with the varnish and turned purple. Nothing else on The Lion, his base, nor the rest of the diorama base changed...just the grey rock. I didn't think to photograph the diorama base, but ALL of the grey rock looked exactly like this piece I'm showing.  All of it.

I don't recall what I did over the project with shades/washes/etc.  But something reacted oddly with the varnish before it dried. This was using Model Masters Lusterless Flat varnish (I still covet a few cans for special projects like this) over Proacryl paint and GW shades.  I've used this varnish for years, and have used it with these same Proacryl colors with never an ill effect like this.  So weird.  Even more odd is the fact that the Lion's gaming base (as shown above) is fine and it's the SAME PAINT varnished at the SAME TIME under the SAME  CONDITIONS!? eh, whatevah.

No sense crying over it.  After a few choice words - there is always sense in that, right? - I settled down and carefully repainted the purple rocks.  As you can see in these final pics, everything worked out in the end.  However, I haven't applied a final coat of varnish, and I may not ever.  I took these final project photos to share just in case the whole horror scene repeats should I choose to varnish the completed diorama base once again. It's not a game piece, so I'm thinking enough is enough.  No need to varnish again, as it'll rarely be touched to a point that the paint might rub off to reveal the sealed purple/grey rocks below.

So that's a wrap on #MonsterMarch7, and I guess I completed this fella just in time now that his 40K self walks the galaxy once more. OF COURSE I will have to have that model for the collection; and maybe I won't wait a year or more to paint it!  hah. For now, I'm just sitting back and enjoying this one completion for the Hobby year.  It's a fantastic model and was pure joy for me to paint. Another one goes in the DONE pile.

If don't already follow Swordmaster's blog, take some time out to have a look.  There were so many fun projects in MonsterMarch7, well worth the look. If you want to see a bit more of the Lion, I dropped a few extra photos below, after the break. Otherwise, it's good bye for now. I'm at a loss for what to pick up next.  It was going to be more mini titans...but now I'm on a Horus Heresy roll...so maybe Deathwing Companions? So much great stuff going on right now.  Spacehulk/Gallowdark terrain?!  I dunno...

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

#MonsterMarch7 - Week 3

 It's the little things...Greetings and welcome back!  This post completes week three of #MonsterMarch7 for me.  I say the little things, because it may not seem like I did much work of the past week compared to what I shared for week two progress. In truth, much work has been done to the display base.

The base is almost entirely done...if such a piece is ever truly done.  I could go on enhancing things for an age it seems.  There's is quite a bit going on.  During the week I highlighted all of the blue armor as well as the red icons. The last marine standing had his pistol finally painted and a host of other bits were addressed all over the base. Oh, and of course the bare head of the fallen marine at The Lion's feet.

There is A LOT of flayed flesh which was also painted through the final layers from highlights to shading, to additional highlights, to pin washes on the sewn bits. I chose a darker, "fresher" look, I guess.  Not sure if I'll lighten it up more before I'm done.  Some days I like it as is, others I don't.  Isn't that the way sometimes?

I'll spend the final week completing The Lion.  I sorta got too involved in the base, but I am really enjoying the results so it seems worth it. The Lion needs highlights and some other bits and bobs, but thankfully he's pretty far along.  I shouldn't have too much stress trying to finish at this point.  Oh - I am not so sure I'll get to the bare head...we'll see if I can leave a session or two towards the end of the week for that.

For now, here's a quick post (I almost forgot to post entirely this week!), and I'll get back to the brushes.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

#MonsterMarch7 - Week 2

 

Greetings and welcome back. Today I'm sharing progress from week two of my #MonsterMarch7 project.  I completed enough details on The Lion to assemble the remaining parts that I had left detached for painting.

That's the pistol hidden on his left side. It appears to be a fancy plasma pistol, so I painted it up as one. With the model assembled, I decided there was enough happening with the base that I better get started on it and not leave it for the final week as I would typically do with a base.  The base here is really a standalone model/diorama in its own right with TONS going on.

I made up a Night Lords paint scheme using Proacryl colors from Monument Hobbies, following the Forge World studio paint job. I think it works!  I have yet to paint on some lightning, so look for that in week three.

Lots of skin and some gory bits to paint, including a head with the top half sliced off.  I looked up real brain images on google (?!) and used that as a sort of reference here. Also a severed leg stump in the first base photo above. ick.  But a fun challenge none-the-less.

I haven't attached this fellow yet, but he also got paint as I worked on the base.  I wanted to be sure I was being consistent with both colors and techniques.  These poor Night Lords are pocked all over from various types of projectiles and energy beams.  I only put blood/flesh at the bottom of the craters that appeared to be penetrating wounds.  This fellow has a lot of close calls, but that arm doesn't look good.

I've only started on the flesh draped about the armor of these traitors. Some highlighting and such will hopefully leave things looking a little less plastic and tarp-like.

This little bit connects the I Legion Primarch to the display base, hiding the rim of the gaming base and tying the whole diorama together.  It fits tightly enough that I have painted it and can use it to assemble the model when displayed int he cabinet.  Some crafty magnet work would have made it all more stable, but it fits snugly enough that the whole assembly can be moved around with a little care.

And here are all the pieces disassembled in one place. That's a fair amount of progress in a week so I'm quite pleased with how things went. Off screen is The Lion's bare head still primed and otherwise untouched.  I'll probably leave that for the final week as a fun exercise.  It seems to me I'll have this project otherwise completed by the end of week three. Both The Lion and the display base pieces have more work to be done, despite their current totally table ready appearance - but its very close!

Here's a shout out to the whole field of MonsterMarchers out there...best of luck with your projects!! Click the link to see how all of the great projects are going.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

#MonsterMarch7 - Week 1

 

As I come out of the first week of #MonsterMarch7, The Lion is starting to take shape. Many of the base colors have been applied and even some shading in spots.  I'm taking my time with the project and despite that things are moving along well.  I have a very detail base full of dead and dying Night Lords to paint so I can't dawdle too much here.

I'm painting several of the parts off the model so I can get to everything and do a good job.  The cape is mostly complete.  I'll look at more highlights once it's attached and I can get a look at the whole model assembled.

The backpack needs highlighting, but that also may wait for assembly.  not need to highlight the hidden bits that aren't catching the light anyway!

The Iron Halo is roughed in and has had some shading, though that is washed out in the pic.

This bit of critter paw needed to be painted off the model.  The whole cape/backpack/paw business is a bit fussy.  I hope to be able to get everything fit right in the end. It's not trivial to get all the pieces to fit right as they largely interlock in a specific way. If once piece doesn't sit right, the whole assembly looks off.

Ah the proud helm.  This pic was taken before the eye lenses were painted in. I still have the non-helmeted head to pain yet. Below, we have all the pieces together in one photo.  Solid progress so far!

I'm keeping largely to the Forge World studio art using the paint recipe for the rest of my First Legion force.  Well...That's not entirely true as I've switched to Proacryl exclusively here. I need to update the recipe page with the (mostly) compatible colors. But the intent is to clearly match the rest of the painted models I have in the collection.

More progress next week and I'll hopefully have everything assembled and highlights well under way.  I have more metal trim and a few other bits and bobs to get through before reaching that point however.

Check out Path of an Outcast to see more terrific MonsterMarch projects.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

#MonsterMarch7 - the pledge

 

Welcome to March....which means #MonsterMarch7! This year I will paint a monster from the Horus Heresy which took place 10,000 before the events of Warhammer 40,000.

Lion El'Jonson was the primarch of the First Legion, the Emperor's Dark Angels. After the events on Terra that cast the primarchs into the warp and scattered them across the galaxy, the Lion was found on the planet Caliban and given the First legion to command.

The Forge World model is simply loaded with details and will make a truly ambition project for MonsterMarch. The Lion can be removed from the display base for gaming purposes. So this is going to be like two painting projects in one.  It is difficult to make out all the details in the picture above, but the Lion stands over many fallen Night Lord space marines, with one about to shoot him with a volkite charger.

So if you are interested in following the fun, check back periodically throughout the month of March to see the progress. For more on MonsterMarch, do check out Path of an Outcast where there will be posts showcasing the work of all participants.  It should be a great month of hobby!

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Adeptus Titanicus Warlord and Warbringer Titans - TO DONE

 

Greetings!  #MonsterMApril1 is finally complete. 😂  Ok, it was #MonsterMarch6, and now it's April so maybe you can see what I did there.  This was the first time I did not complete my project out of six challenges, so I'm not too beat up about it.  Here's the promised light box photos of the completed titans, starting with the Warbringer Nemesis titan, Liberatus Mortis.

I'm very happy with the results.  All weapons are magnetized, so at some point I need to paint up the Volcano cannon option for the main gun. Now on to the Warlord titan Martis Renes.

Lots of weapons options for these big boys are waiting to get painted as well.  Everything is magnetized for easy swap outs during games.  Its a bit of extra work, but worth it for the WYSIWYG flexibility.

Thanks so much if you stuck through all the many posts on this project. If you enjoyed the journey then you are in luck.  The mighty Warmaster titan is next, and already on the painting table.  So expect more on that as I begin the painting portion of the project now that the primer is dry.  I'm going to start with a quick look at what I magnetized and how/why. If this isn't your cup of tea, you might want to check back with us in June...

If it helps, the Warmaster titan is an amazing kit for Adeptus Titanicus and sets a new bar for scale and detail. So hopefully the work I share here will be inspirational in its own right, if you are into titanic stompy war machines. Is anyone else annoyed that blogger has an emoticon for poop, but not titantic stompy war machines? Right?! 😁

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

MonsterMarch6 - Brushes Down!

 

I wish it was an April Fools joke, but it is truly time to put the brushes down and declare MonsterMarch6 at an end.  This year I was not able to complete my pledge for the first time.  My sense of self is disappointed, but I am otherwise excited to have two more titans for my collection close to done, regardless.

In the final few days, I got to work on the base for the warlord titan, Martis Renes. To complement the existing collection, I went with a simple Mars terrain base with the titan straddling an ancient dry river bed.  An eroded mesa sits at the edge of the river to add some scale and interest to the base.

The orange river is GW Martian Ironearth technical paint which dried with a nice crackling effect like dried mud.  Before applying the Ironearth, I painted on a coat of gloss varnish to assist with the crackling effect.

After everything on the base was good and dry, I laid down the base colors with an airbrush according to the recipe found on the appropriate tab above.  Next came the washes/shading.  When that had dried, I glued on the nameplate which was already painted.  Lat, I painted the base rim black and glued down the titan.

I was able to complete the trim, details, and shading on the volcano cannon arms. I'm really liking the new(ish) Tempestus transfers on the shoulders.

A first look at the rear, since I've only ever shown the titan from the front.

The gun shields will get some additional transfers before I'm done, to indicate significant kills and other heraldry. I'm still noodling on what I want here.

The Warbringer's base had already been built so it just needed painting. While I was focused on the Warlord in the final days, I still painted up the Warbringer's base for efficiency as I had the colors in the airbrush anyway.

I'll com back and cleanup then detail the building before I seal both bases and apply the Mars dust weathering powders.

No additional work got done on the Warbringer weapons; trim, details, and shading pending. Nice profile though, eh? The Omnissiah alone knows why these beasts don't fall flat on their backs when that cannon fires...

Only loyal allies see the rear of these proud engines.  The enemy sees only armor and guns before then end comes.

Here too, there will be additional transfers to dress things up and add kill markings, etc.

And that's where my MonsterMarch6 journey ended at 11:45pm 03/31/2022.  I have two table ready titans that will soon be in the DONE column.  I expect to spend another week or two finishing these engines before I likely move on to some new Grim Dark Terrain pieces I picked up to add variety to my future games.  More on that later.

More congratulations to all of the MonsterMarch6 challengers.  There's some very cool projects out there. Be sure to check out Path of and Outcast if you want to check them out. Special thanks to Swordmaster for hosting again this year and providing a space to share our work.

 I'm already looking forward to next year's challenge.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

 

 

MonsterMarch6 - Week four progress

credit: swordmasterofhoeth.blogspot.com

Greetings and welcome back to #MonsterMarch6. We're drawing to a close and it's looking grim for my chances at securing two painted titans for this challenge.  That said, I've made some great progress and as promised, both titans now walk!

The week started with some more assembly.  I dry-brushed the titan skeleton and applied a few minor details with tin-bitz before removing the armor from the sprue, cleaning things up and gluing them in place.  Funny (um...tragic) story there.  After believing I had been careful to keep track of which parts were left and right, I managed to get the leg/knee armor backwards.  After much cursing and throwing of tools, I quieted down and repainted the knees then reapplied the transfers.  Thankfully I have a good supply of transfers to draw from for these sorts of issues.  Here's a look back at what the legs looked like originally after I applied the first set of transfers.

Ugh.  So that cost some precious hobby time. But the truth is, the facts of that mistake are only here on the blog now. The titan looks just fine and the bad memory will soon pass.  Take a lesson from this misadventure and pay careful attention to orientation of parts on the sprue if you choose to paint your projects as I have here.  With the issue fixed, I continued to assemble the main body and glue it down to the legs.  I made the decision back when I started with these models that I wouldn't bother magnetizing the waists.  Martis Renes walks!

I'm working on the weapons now.  Here are the missile pods after getting the trim and missile nose-cones painted.

While all this was going on, I was also painting a lot of Warbringer armor trim.

 And then some more trim...plus dry-brushing the body in preparation for final assembly.

Assembly of the Warbringer leg armor went well without issue.  My custom checkered transfer work on the legs will require a lot of cleanup, but it looks passable from this angle. I made the conscious decisions to just move forward and come back to that later.

And now Liberatus Mortis walks too!

So, with two days before the end of the month it's clear I won't have these titans complete.  But I'll make a good push on the Warlord, working right up to the bitter end Thursday, no doubt. I'm actually very excited to have these two titans very close to done.  The chosen color scheme is A LOT of work and it will be a good accomplishment to have two more titans complete.  I'll use the momentum to carry me on to completing the remaining Reaver and Warmaster iconoclast titans which will fill out the collection (I also have a Reaver and Warmaster waiting in the wings for Legio Ignatum).

So one more #MonsterMarch6 post after the 31st to share my results for the month, but there will be more to come before these two titans are in the DONE column. Congratulations to all of my fellow #MonsterMarch6 challengers out there!

How are your projects going?

Cheers and Happy Gaming!