Terrain - Galvanic Servohaulers painting begins...

Trying to follow Horus the Warmaster is bound to be a bit of an anticlimax, so I figured I'd embrace it and really go mundane with a crane and some industrial traction engines!

Ended up being a 50 hour work week so not as much hobby progress happened as I would have liked. Nevertheless I did pull the Galvanic Servohauler models off the shelf and got stuck in as a way to relax - after the painstaking detail of the big H recently I was really looking for something I could just get messy. Just basic metals and yellows so far and the beginnings of some detail work, but once that's all done I'm going to go to town on 'em with some rust and oil, scrapes and grime! I should probably invest in a smock or apron for all the upcoming spatter...

Heresy Era Sons of Horus - Horus the Warmaster complete!

Another three hours of work in after work today, and have called it finished for the big man himself. Well, he hasn't been sealed yet as the weather has taken a turn for the chilly and I absolutely don't want to take a chance on frosting the model at this point!

A little cleanup here and there, some further washes on the metal to give it more depth, and he's ready to march on Terra! Painting this model is a bit of a hobby milestone for me - I've always wanted to take a crack at him since it was released but wanted to wait until I felt I could do it justice.

Added a little flourish to the interior of the cape, but didn't want to go overboard. I've seen some truly amazing freehand done by others, but I know my limitations and inexperience and this is NOT the model I wanted to be practicing on! I was pretty happy with the obsidian head on Worldbreaker, it'll have a slick glossy finish added once the matte spray sealant is applied, should help distinguish its black from the black of the armour in both tone and color.

I'm pretty sure this is the best face I've ever done, which I expect is more than half due to the fact that it's about twice the size of a normal marine face so there was plenty of room to work!

Really happy with the OSL effect - I probably could have pushed it a little further, but I always say "less is more" when it comes to weathering, blood spatter, and the the like. I was honestly terrified the entire time I was painting it, and the fear of going too heavy-handed and mucking it up completely kept me from going overboard.

Looking at pictures this blown up is always a sobering moment for any painter, where every little flaw and brushstroke is shouted into one's eyes. There's all sorts of things that leap out at me as being ham-fisted, but even so this is probably the first piece I've painted that has made me seriously consider entering it in an event painting competition like NOVA or Adepticon. I absolutely know that I'd be destroyed by the hugely talented artists, but I think I could still hold my head up and be proud of the entry!

Really enjoyed painting him but I think it's time to do something messy and fast next as a way to loosen up - Going to finally build and paint the Galvanic Servohaulers set I picked up a while back. Experiments in weathering ahoy!

Heresy Era Sons of Horus - Horus nearing completion!

Ended up getting a fair bit of brush time in on Sunday afternoon and after work today, and got to what I'm thinking will be the penultimate session. One more good push and I should be able to carry him to the finish line!

Added some subtle oranges and reds to the undersides of Horus's face, and gave the interior of the armor the same treatment. Then came the nerve-wracking installation of the head. Decided on the 'looking out over his forces' facing rather than down the haft of worldbreaker, as the OSL looked a little better in this facing.

I like to take a picture near the end like this (though I don't always post them) as it helps me step back from the model and really take stock of what remains to be done before sealing. I need to give all the metals and the cloak a further wash and highlight, as well as do a little cleanup here and there, paint the base rims, etc.

Overall I'm really happy with how he's coming along, the model has been an absolute joy to paint and I'm looking forward to getting a family photo with him surrounded by the rest of the Sons of Horus!

Heresy Era Sons of Horus - Forging ahead with Horus!

Quick hit this evening, only got a little brush time in today but it was enough to warrant a terrible pun!

Got Horus's head painted up to the point where I can now consider mucking it up with OSL. Rather pleased with how it's come along so far and part of me is shouting "leave well enough alone!"

I do find it interesting how much of the under-colors pop out in the pictures under the daylight lamps. To the naked eye, many of the yellows and browns are far more subdued and blended. That's likely more down to my photo setup than anything else. I ought to put some parchment paper over the lamp to stop it from being quite so harsh.

In any case, pretty happy with the head and looking forward to getting started on the rest of the model. It really deserves a deliberate, careful approach so I am going to try not to rush it. Speedy batch painting is fine for rank and file models, but a Primarch deserves better!

Heresy Era Sons of Horus - Horus the Warmaster built!

A box o' joy dropped on my doorstep a few days ago and after a good soak and scrub, the centerpiece for the Sons of Horus army takes the stage!

Leaving his head separate for painting, the intent is to do some fiery glow from the interior of the armour, reflecting up and to the rear of his head. That's the plan at least, we'll see if my skillset will allow it. Really looking forward to getting him on the painting desk - this is one of the models that I have always wanted to tackle but have equally feared undertaking!

I really like the base that he comes with, the full vignette really has a sense of majesty to it, and even separated down to the gaming base it is still very imposing! Still trying to decide which way he'll be looking in the end, pointing left down along the haft of Worldbreaker, or more out to the right such that he'd be facing directly into the camera in the pic above. With my propensity for slightly walleyed pupil placement, he may inadvertently end up doing both!

I got some brush time in on Falkus Kibre recently as well, as I have a game scheduled (GASP) for this coming Sunday where the Sons of Horus will be taking the field for the first time and I needed a Delegatus to lead the force. Pretty pleased with how he's turning out, still working on the base (as you can see the initial pass of water effects are still drying).

Also included in the recent box o' joy was a little something for Necromunda - Gor Halfhorn the bounty hunter. I love this homage to the old metal guard beastman model, and really look forward to getting some paint on him as well!

Necromunda - Goliath gang painted!

Quick hit this evening - Got a little more brush time in over the last few days and finished up the Sump City Gym Membership Collections Department!

Pretty happy with how they turned out, and though the Goliaths are way down on my list of favorite gangs, I have to admit the new edition's sculpts are truly excellent. In general they're a bit more subdued color-wise than the Escher's punk aesthetic, but I did have some fun with a couple neon mohawks, and the Luchador mask on the guy on the far left! I rather like the hazard stripes for the front 90 arc, and plan to do the same on the Eschers.

I took a page from one of my favorite MST3K episodes for their names:

Leader - Bulk VanderHuge
Champion - Blast Thickneck
Gangers - Gristle McThornbody, Hack Blowfist, Trunk Slamchest, Slab Bulkhead, Stump Chunkman, Bold Bigflank, Slate Fistcrunch, and Fridge Largemeat!

I feel each activation will have to be accompanied by a WWE-announcer-style voiceover - "And now, charging into battle, it's Bullllllllk VanderHuuuuuuuuge! "

Necromunda - Eschers and others on display!

Managed to get my mitts on the new Necromunda on Friday and couldn't help but dive right in! After a good day of gluing my fingers together and a fair chunk of brush time the newest iteration of the Eschers were ready for their close up, and some old faces got taken off the shelves for a bit of fresh air!

The Militia of Eth Ridge (har!) is the first time I've actually done any Eschers - When we played years ago several other of the group played them so I never gave 'em a try. The new plastic set is really fantastic and I rather enjoyed building them, fiddly as they may be! Stuck fairly close to the 'default' paint scheme on them, and tried my hand at some zebra stripes and leopard spots here and there. The front 90 degree facing is important in the new Necromunda, so I marked out the bases in white, though in retrospect I think I'm going to turn it into black and yellow hazard stripes.

While I was putting the models into a tray to run down to the GW shop, I figured I ought to dig out what Necromuna models remained in the depths of the Closet of Doom, and uncovered my House gang of choice - House Delaque. The Cobalt Snakes were never a particularly effective gang, but over time there sure were a lot of 'em! Really interested to see what the new iteration of their models will look like!

My other favored gang from back in the day was Hunt Team Phi Sigma Rho, a group of Spyrers comprising one each of Orrus, Malcador, Yeld and Jakara. I'm really hoping that GW will continue on beyond the 'original six' and delve into the models and rules from the Outlanders supplement, including the Spyre Hunters, Ratskins, Scavvies and of course The Redemption!

I held on to a couple special characters and follow-on gangs from the Outlanders book and Necromunda magazines, including Bull Gorg, pit fighter extrordinairre, and Kal Jerico the most badass bounty hunter in the Underhive. ...At least that what he'll tell ya! Rather pleased with how this particular pic turned out, with the inestimable Jerico menaced by the beast while the guilder and his cronies look on and jeer from the stands!

Speaking of, one of my very favorite 'gangs' were the guilders, with my particular band led by the portly-but-surprisingly-dangerous Count DeMonay and his pack of henchmen, cronies, bodyguards and hired guns. I initially didn't hold out much hope that we'll see the Guilders, but they're mentioned in surprising detail right in the main rulebook alongside the house gangs, so perhaps Count DeMonay may see the table again earlier than expected!

Last but not least, the Arbites of Precinct 13 ("Unlucky for some"). I really hope we'll see these guys walking the beat again at some point in the future as well. With as well done as the new Escher and Goliath (and as of today Orlock) models have been I am super jazzed to see what else they come out with!

Got a chance to play the basic game yesterday (to come to grips with the main rules before adding on all the Gang War campaign expansion stuff) and I gotta say I REALLY enjoyed it. The lineage of the 1st edition game shines through, with a few tweaks to the old rules and a few new additions that all added to the experience in.my opinion. I really dig the small update to the flesh wound/serious injury method and the bottling out process, and the gangs definitely feel more differentiated from the outset than they did in 1st edition. Used to be it was really only after a few games that your gangs started for show their house flavor. The tactics cards added a nice extra bit of spice without being overpowered (at least the ones we drew), and while I was initially down on the ZM tiles (I much prefer the 3d terrain of old) it was actually rather fun to rumble in the tunnels for our learner games.

I will say that to me the Eschers were definitely the standouts of the two. Far more customizable than the Goliaths, though I understand why that's the case - with all the exposed musculature they had to make the arms fit on the Goliaths in a very specific way to look good. I found it amusing as well that the Goliaths are actually showing more skin than the Eschers, and am rather happy that the girls aren't hyper-sexualized. They are feminine without being cheesecake which to me is quite welcome.

As of now I'm giving it a 9/10 - nostalgia filters in place for me of course as Necromunda was always my favorite specialist game, and I'm appy to report that my fears that they would mess it up were unfounded. This is more or less exactly what I hoped the reboot would be, a loving adaptation of the old system and not a complete rewrite from the ground up. Good stuff!