In the Grim Dark Universe, there is only modelling...

Post by **aur0ra145** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 11:48 pm

Howdy folks!

I'm going to start working on my back log of Warhammer 40k models. The focus will be start/finish my Astra Militarum army. The scheme will be Cadian and I'm starting with the "Start Collecting" box.

In no particular order, my backlog consists of...

Steel Legion Squad 3x
Sentinel
Cadian Command Squad 2x
Gaunt's Ghosts
Cadian Shock Troops
Severina Raine
Hydra
Start Collecting Box

I also have a ton of Death Korps of Krieg; but, I'll save those for a later date.

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Jul 05, 2022 12:54 am

This should keep you busy for at least 3 summer sci fi builds!

Stash · Post by **bfrd** » Tue Jul 05, 2022 11:40 am

I wish Citadel would figure out a better container for their paints. The paints are amazing, the containers are crap.

P.S. Out of sheer curiosity, in what part of Texas are you located. Feel free to not answer or answer via PM, and if it makes you feel better; I am not a stalker. However, If I was a stalker, I might lie about it. Use your best judgment.

Post by **RangerNeil** » Tue Jul 05, 2022 12:13 pm

Excuse the ignorance - but what is Warhammer? Heard of it many times but....

Post by **digger303** » Tue Jul 05, 2022 1:06 pm

RangerNeil wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 12:13 pm Excuse the ignorance - but what is Warhammer? Heard of it many times but....

Started off as a Pc game strategy game I think and that's as much as I know.....except for the fact it got really popular.

Post by **Tomcat64** » Tue Jul 05, 2022 3:05 pm

That's a great looking project - will be following along for sure

bfrd wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 11:40 am I wish Citadel would figure out a better container for their paints. The paints are amazing, the containers are crap.

Very much this! The paints are great especially for brush work but they dry out really quickly and the pots are a nightmare

digger303 wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 1:06 pm
RangerNeil wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 12:13 pm Excuse the ignorance - but what is Warhammer? Heard of it many times but....
Started off as a Pc game strategy game I think and that's as much as I know.....except for the fact it got really popular.

Other way around - it started out as a tabletop game and got adapted for multiple video games over the years - I remember having some of the original white metal Citadel figures for Dungeons & Dragons before Warhammer became a thing.

Warhammer was the sword & sorcery version and Warhammer 40,000 (40k) the sci-fi version - there've been multiple revisions over the years and I think Warhammer is now called something else?

I did start with my own 40k Space Marines many years ago and these are probably still lurking in the garage somewhere

Post by **aur0ra145** » Tue Jul 05, 2022 8:22 pm

Tomcat64 wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 3:05 pm That's a great looking project - will be following along for sure

bfrd wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 11:40 am I wish Citadel would figure out a better container for their paints. The paints are amazing, the containers are crap.
Very much this! The paints are great especially for brush work but they dry out really quickly and the pots are a nightmare

digger303 wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 1:06 pm
RangerNeil wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 12:13 pm Excuse the ignorance - but what is Warhammer? Heard of it many times but....
Started off as a Pc game strategy game I think and that's as much as I know.....except for the fact it got really popular.
Other way around - it started out as a tabletop game and got adapted for multiple video games over the years - I remember having some of the original white metal Citadel figures for Dungeons & Dragons before Warhammer became a thing.

Warhammer was the sword & sorcery version and Warhammer 40,000 (40k) the sci-fi version - there've been multiple revisions over the years and I think Warhammer is now called something else?

I did start with my own 40k Space Marines many years ago and these are probably still lurking in the garage somewhere

Cool army!

RangerNeil wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 12:13 pm Excuse the ignorance - but what is Warhammer? Heard of it many times but....

Warhammer 40k started wayyy back in 1987 as Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader. Then in 1993 2nd edition was released and we have the 40k we know and love today. Currently they're on 9th edition with some whispers of 10th edition starting to crop up. I personally have never played a game, I just like painting the models. I'll end up learning how to play whenever I get an army painted up.

The swords and sorcery version is called Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. Rules are somewhat similar with different aesthetics. It was released in 2015. I'm unsure of what it was called before 2015.

Games Workshop (the people that own all the Warhammer stuff) have fully monetized everything. From a paint water cups, and table top miniatures, to video games and novel series. If you're a fan of the lore, there is a lot of material to read and video games to play. They also don't have a lot of 'canon' issues as you see in other franchises.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Tue Jul 05, 2022 10:24 pm

The Age of Sigmar Dominion boxes are now 50% off at my local shop. That's a REALLY good deal. Spikey Bits places the box value at $640 including the rule book.

With the 50% off, the whole box is only $100 before taxes.

https://spikeybits.com/2021/06/age-of-s ... value.html

Post by **aur0ra145** » Wed Jul 06, 2022 2:25 am

Starting with the sergeant. Lots of bits, I'm going to try and build the models all the way up before painting. Heads may be left off so I can get to the armor plates.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Thu Jul 07, 2022 2:19 am

I'm going to do some batch building with this. Tonight I got 4 additional minis set up and glued together. The heads will be added later.

Fun fact: If you need to scrape a seem line, the back of a hobby knife is perfect.

My goal is to have the infantry squad built up by Friday. Additionally I'd like to have the heavy weapons team built too. The Leman Russ tank should be pretty easy to put together. Plus, I have a lot of tank building experience.

I'm really enjoying this so far. Knowing that these models don't need to be a perfect show pieces is nice. "Does it look okay from 3 feet away?" as the baseline makes this stuff go a lot faster. Downside, is I have no idea how to play the game, so I hope the weapons I'm choosing is what I'd actually want. I may try to magnetize the weapons on the tank to allow for fast changes of armament.

Post by **digger303** » Thu Jul 07, 2022 4:20 am

Brings to mind the headless monks from Dr Who.
They do look marvelous.

Post by **Tomcat64** » Thu Jul 07, 2022 7:56 am

They're coming along nicely!

I'm the same as you in that I don't play the game so just chose the weapons I thought looked best

Post by **aur0ra145** » Fri Jul 08, 2022 3:46 am

5 more assembled. Tomorrow will be primer for these guys and their heads/gear. I may also try to get the heavy weapons team assembled.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Sun Jul 10, 2022 6:25 pm

Getting the dudes painted up!

Post by **aur0ra145** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 2:22 am

Got one guy finished. I decided to go with beret's for my troopers. I've got 30 beret heads, so that should cover this box set.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 4:20 am

Now there are two! Second mini got painted up about 10 times faster than the 1st guy.

Post by **digger303** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 6:12 am

Much better with heads.......A real heads UP....

They look good a very neat paint job with some subtle high lights.

Post by **RangerNeil** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 9:43 am

aur0ra145 wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 2:22 am Got one guy finished. I decided to go with beret's for my troopers. I've got 30 beret heads, so that should cover this box set.

Cherry berets!!

You are making a squad of MP's??

Post by **Tomcat64** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 3:47 pm

That's some very tidy paintwork - they're coming along great.

Hopefully now you've got your colour scheme sorted out you can start working on a bit of a production line

Post by **aur0ra145** » Thu Jul 14, 2022 1:30 am

Some good news. The Altirvun Battalion kickstarter just delivered all of their minis for my pledge. So the 3d printer is busy printing away one of the new infantry minis.

Post by **digger303** » Thu Jul 14, 2022 1:08 pm

aur0ra145 wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 1:30 am Some good news. The Altirvun Battalion kickstarter just delivered all of their minis for my pledge. So the 3d printer is busy printing away one of the new infantry minis.

Glad it's working out for you. I've never participated in one of these ventures. How does it all play out. Do you get value or can you get ripped off ? I know nothing about these start ups.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Fri Jul 15, 2022 2:10 am

digger303 wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 1:08 pm
aur0ra145 wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 1:30 am Some good news. The Altirvun Battalion kickstarter just delivered all of their minis for my pledge. So the 3d printer is busy printing away one of the new infantry minis.
Glad it's working out for you. I've never participated in one of these ventures. How does it all play out. Do you get value or can you get ripped off ? I know nothing about these start ups.

Kickstarters can be amazing. Though, I treat each of them as "Proceed with caution."

There are a lot of different Kickstarter categories to include books, board games, stl files and new tech gadgets to name a few. I usually only support a campaign if they have a realistic goal and a well thought out fulfillment process.

I've only done 2 .stl Kickstarter's and both were with this group. They're great and I'll continue to fund their campaigns if the subject matter interests me.

I've done 5 book Kickstarter's to date. 3 of them were with historians that I trusted their credibility before the campaign started, they went off without a hitch. 1 of the books is still being funded. It's about the history of text based video games. The last book I funded had a hick-up... Russian invaded Ukraine and the author was located in Ukraine. He's had good communication and I'm certain I'll get the book in one format or another.

I have heard horror stories of campaigns never fulfilling their orders, even years after it was funded. Though, a lot of those seemed a bit "too good to be true."

Post by **digger303** » Fri Jul 15, 2022 6:22 am

Post by **aur0ra145** » Sat Jul 16, 2022 6:26 pm

Second and third prints came out nicely. I'll get some pictures up once they're cured and primed.

Here's a pic from their promo material of the range.

Post by **digger303** » Sun Jul 17, 2022 4:15 am

Wow great looking pieces. I especially like the mech warrior next to the tank.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Mon Jul 18, 2022 2:06 am

And my print failed.... The figures look nice, the pre-supported artillery pieces warped and aren't good. So, I'm in the business of manually supporting these guys.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Tue Jul 19, 2022 3:30 am

Got a bit more done tonight. The second printing of the artillery looked like it came out better.

Also finished up the infantry squad. They just need basing material which I'll do in the next few days. Next to build will be the heavy weapons team and the tank.

Last photo is of a couple 3d printed minis from the recent Kickstarter.

The dog got a bit curious as to why I was spending so much time in the garage and came to check in on me.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Wed Jul 20, 2022 2:14 am

Decided to build the heavy weapons team and commissar in sub assemblies. Should be easier to paint that way. I'm trying out my spray can Tamiya primer. Initial results look good.

Also snapped a shot of the 3d printed gun carriage from the Kickstarter.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Wed Jul 20, 2022 2:50 am

These guys look great, love the red berets!
Your painting skills are shining here
Pups just wants some love

Post by **Tomcat64** » Wed Jul 20, 2022 7:59 am

Great work on the infantry squad - they look really tidy

And the 3d printed figs look great

Post by **aur0ra145** » Sat Jul 23, 2022 7:37 pm

Lucked out and the local hobby shop had a ton of Citadel Air Castellan Green. That should make painting the tank a lot easier.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Mon Jul 25, 2022 3:59 am

Finished up the heavy weapons team, based the infantry and started on the tank. Lots of progress! Additionally I'm magnetizing the sponson weapons so they can be changed out as I desire.

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Post by **aur0ra145** » Tue Jul 26, 2022 2:25 am

Did a first pass on the Commisar. Getting him glued to the base has been a headache, I'm currently trying thick gel super glue to see if it will work. Other than that, it was a bit easier to paint than I had initially thought, I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Post by **Tomcat64** » Wed Jul 27, 2022 8:10 am

Nice work on the heavy support crew & bases - the Commisar looks really striking too

Looking forward to seeing how the tank comes together - are you sticking with the green scheme for that as well?

Post by **digger303** » Wed Jul 27, 2022 1:15 pm

Some neat painting

Post by **aur0ra145** » Sat Jul 30, 2022 9:27 pm

Anyone else having issues with Badger Stynylrez primers? The gray seems like they changed the formula and it clogs my airbrush nearly constantly with small congealed hunks of primer. Very frustrating to completely clean an airbrush and then it won't spray appropriately.

In other news, I primed the tank. Later tonight it will get a coat of Zandri Dust. I'm thinking of going with a tan theme for the vehicles in the set. I do have a Wyvern/Hydra to build in the future and I think it'd look awesome in tan. Additionally, the 3d printing project is coming along. The fake Earthshaker cannon looks fantastic so far and the fit is amazing.

In other news. I may try printing my own decals...

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sun Jul 31, 2022 6:20 am

Holy cow look at you go

This is amazing work
Your figure painting skills are off the cart!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sun Jul 31, 2022 6:22 am

aur0ra145 wrote: Sat Jul 30, 2022 9:27 pm Anyone else having issues with Badger Stynylrez primers? The gray seems like they changed the formula and it clogs my airbrush nearly constantly with small congealed hunks of primer. Very frustrating to completely clean an airbrush and then it won't spray appropriately.

In other news, I primed the tank. Later tonight it will get a coat of Zandri Dust. I'm thinking of going with a tan theme for the vehicles in the set. I do have a Wyvern/Hydra to build in the future and I think it'd look awesome in tan. Additionally, the 3d printing project is coming along. The fake Earthshaker cannon looks fantastic so far and the fit is amazing.

In other news. I may try printing my own decals...

Hmm sounds like it might be wise to run the entire primer bottle through a strainer….might be a bad batch
The grey is usually one of the easiest to use

Interested to hear your decal printing process

Post by **digger303** » Sun Jul 31, 2022 8:03 am

Decals .....hmm yes. Be great to copy decals from old kits and be able to print new ones. Easier than trying to source replacements.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Sun Jul 31, 2022 7:43 pm

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 6:22 am
aur0ra145 wrote: Sat Jul 30, 2022 9:27 pm Anyone else having issues with Badger Stynylrez primers? The gray seems like they changed the formula and it clogs my airbrush nearly constantly with small congealed hunks of primer. Very frustrating to completely clean an airbrush and then it won't spray appropriately.

In other news, I primed the tank. Later tonight it will get a coat of Zandri Dust. I'm thinking of going with a tan theme for the vehicles in the set. I do have a Wyvern/Hydra to build in the future and I think it'd look awesome in tan. Additionally, the 3d printing project is coming along. The fake Earthshaker cannon looks fantastic so far and the fit is amazing.

In other news. I may try printing my own decals...
Hmm sounds like it might be wise to run the entire primer bottle through a strainer….might be a bad batch
The grey is usually one of the easiest to use

Interested to hear your decal printing process

I thought about the bad batch theory too. According to Badger, the primer is almost bullet proof, unless it ever freezes. Which it hasn't in my home; but, it may have in the sellers warehouse and/or in transit (don't recall what time of year I bought my current stuff.) I've ordered another bottle to see what happens. I'll strain the current stock and see how it goes.

Decals are based off the Terlingua fighting rabbit. My buddy has a lot of land down there and the area was made somewhat famous by some car guy named Shelby. One of my absolute favorite vacation spots.

I'm hoping to just print these to a decal sheet and see how it goes.

The Citadel Air actually sprays pretty well. Though, it is expensive! And, I think the more traditional Tamiya/MMP/Vallejo, RAL7028, Dunkelgelb, Dark Yellow 2 are not only cheaper; but better paint.

Pics of the tank.

Test print of the decals.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Sun Jul 31, 2022 9:56 pm

Came out better than expected. We'll see how they stick.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Sun Jul 31, 2022 10:46 pm

Abysmal failure.

The ink just washes away. I may try to spray a clear coat on the decals and try again. Definitely interesting if I'm able to figure it out.

One of the decals I barely brushed with my finger when putting into the water. It was immediately smudged. Though, after getting them out of the water, all ink ran off.

How it looked after pulling the good one out of the water.

Post by **digger303** » Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:55 am

Did you seal them after printing ?

Post by **aur0ra145** » Mon Aug 01, 2022 1:30 am

digger303 wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:55 am Did you seal them after printing ?

Step 2. Read the instructions....

I did not seal them, as step 2 recommends on the packaging... which I should have read.

Thankfully I do have the decal film stuff they suggest using. I'll report back with further results.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Thu Aug 04, 2022 2:25 am

Haven't made any additional progress on the decal situation. Though, I did get my tank commander installed and painted up. There is some subtle weather that was washed out by my lights. I do plan to do a wash and apply some pigments. The group is starting to look somewhat respectable.

Post by **digger303** » Thu Aug 04, 2022 4:21 am

Post by **aur0ra145** » Fri Aug 05, 2022 8:41 pm

Tonight's mission is to weather a bit and decide on the next unit to build up. I'll take suggestions from the crowd. The lineup is...

Astra Militarum-
Cadian Command Squad (2x)
Cadian Shock Troopers
Sentinel
Wyvern (leaning towards this vehicle)

Additionally, my new bottle of Stynylrez should arrive in the mail today. I'm definitely going to try it out and report back with results.

Fun fact: I always have to google how to spell "Stynylrez" so I don't sound dumb.

Stash · Post by **bfrd** » Fri Aug 05, 2022 10:08 pm

I made a substitution, if you type in (no spaces) s r e z it automatically changes to Stynylrez.

P.s.
I got my Stynylrez all colors in the other day.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Sun Aug 07, 2022 8:08 am

I've got big into sea shanty's for some reason. And a space shanty... Guess it's the sailor in me.

Post by **aur0ra145** » Sun Aug 07, 2022 8:30 pm

Goals for today.

Retest the decals, this time with the decal film applied.

Test the new primer.

Finish the tank and start on the next set of things.