30 Dec 2013

Spirits be praised

Remember my target by end of 1st Jan? Well reached it today. Very happy indeed with the progress so far.

This means I can now try to get the Fire Prism and Crimson (Purple) Hunter completed in their 3 colour basics by end 1st Jan. If I can do that then I can spend a bit more time on the Spiritseer who is demanding non-speed painting as he's in charge...


So what have I achieved so far then? Well see the picture above.



All these models now have 3 colours so could go on to a battlefield near you. They need some tidying up, especially the Wave Serpents around the cockpits, but they are basically ready to go. If time is short then I'll just add some grey basing (same style as my World Eaters) and go with the army as they are above.

Hopefully I can find some time to get the other blues and purples involved and get them highlighted up like the sole Wraithguard below:


So 2013 ends with a hobby bang; let's hope I can continue this once 2014 dawns and work re-enters the frame.

26 days to go

28 Dec 2013

Colouring in Eldar

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.

The weather finally broke on Xmas Eve and out came the spray cans: everything turned a nice shade of Alien Purple courtesy of Army Painter. I'm pretty sure my face also went an interesting shade thanks to the wind...

Since then Christmas has interrupted and I even managed to take this army out for a spin on Boxing Day. Yesterday though was painting day and it took 4 attempts to get the colour scheme anywhere near something I like.

Here's the Wraithguard tester who has about 4 layers of paint on his gun before the blues you can see. Tell you I'm terrible at choosing schemes on the fly.

So yes he's purple and blue. Yellow just didn't want to work properly for me and as I'm speed painting I decided to go for colours I know work together... and I need to sort the cable out.

The body is Alien Purple with highlights of Genestealer Purple and Lucius Lilac (first time trying Citadel Dry paint and it's really rather good). The blues are Caledor Sky, Teclis Blue and then Lothern Blue.

At the minute the score is:
1 Wraithguard to be based
4 Wraithguard to be highlighted
5 Wraithguard to be blued
1 Wave Serpent to be blued
Spiritseer undercoated
Everything else at Alien Purple stage
2 Vypers to be delivered

Aim is to complete the Wraithguard, Wave Serpents and Wraithlord by end of Jan 1. Then I'm back to work so time will become a challenge again!

27 days to go


23 Dec 2013

Rollin, rollin, erm, skimmin, skimmin, skimmin...

Well something quite momentous has occurred. On Saturday I picked up some pieces for my new Eldar army - Wave Serpents, Fire Prism and Wraithlord. As of today the 3 skimmers are built and ready for painting!

I know. Wargame items being purchased and built in the same weekend; I believe Armageddon is next week... poor old shelves didn't even see these boxes and several words were exchanged between these new upstarts and various items that have been sat on said shelves for years.

Anyway, here they are. Have to say the Fire Prism cannon is a monster!

As with the flyer I've decided to stick the canopy down ahead of time so I can paint over it; afterall what self-respecting Ghost army actually uses pilots??

One final question: how the hell do 5 Wraithguard and a Spiritseer fit in the back of a Wave Serpent?!

33 days to go.

20 Dec 2013

I make whooshing noises...

When this bad boy flies





Decided to cheat with the canopy and fix it in place ahead of painting. This way I can save time by not painting the cockpit and pilot.

A fighter plane in the 41st millenium really won't need windows right? Probably use iOS to prevent crashes...

Ahem.

Now to design the base diorama or bits strewn about as we like to call it. Hope some decently dry weather appears over Christmas so I can get this lot sprayed!

37 days to go

19 Dec 2013

Velc-Jenn go Airfix

Well OK not quite Airfix but building the Eldar Flyer took me back to my youth (yes, they did have model airplanes then and no I didn't have to hunt down dinosaurs for glue).

Nice looking model this Crimson Hunter and has gone together very nicely so far.





Oh and the Wraithguard have now been completed.

Finish off the plane tomorrow and then decide what diorama to build for its base as I have a few spare parts floating about...

38 Days to go

18 Dec 2013

Velc-Jenn Challenge Day 2

Second Wraithguard squad nearly complete. Just need to add the arms and head. Will do this tomorrow night as need the glue between torso and legs to dry first... otherwise it starts swiveling when putting the arms in place!

Not a bad effort as I didn't get to the hobby table until 10:30pm tonight.





Tomorrow I'll finish this squad and start in on building the Crimson Hunter.

After that it's a trip to Triple Helix on Saturday to pick up any of my order that has arrived including some purple spray. I'm thinking purple and yellow as their main colours and then maybe a touch of blue, black and something else for any jewels. No doubt that will change as time progresses...

39 Days to go.

17 Dec 2013

Trees!

'Citing ain't it!

Bravo to the Silverfox for leading the charge by challenging himself. I on the other hand have been (slightly) productive. The Silverback sourced some great little trees that are perfect for DZC and seeing he acquired them it was the least I could do to prep them ready for use. I decide to mount them on to strips for ease of use and they should look pretty good lining the road ways of our city board.



I've also been slightly distracted painting some beasties for some old RPG friends of mine. Nice figs to paint as a change from the normal things that linger in my painting queue.

Next up are the reinforcements for my Shaltari.

Velc-Jenn Craftworld appears from the darkness of space

Not sure it needs saying but I'm a nutter.

You'll have noted, possibly, my lack of posting and truth to tell I've not done any hobby stuff for at least 6 weeks possibly longer. Massive hobby slump right now.

I have completed a whole host of PS3 games but that's not really helping to clear the shelves now is it??

Now I'm someone who builds and paints to a deadline. If I set myself a target I find I get motivated and can crack on. In the past this has come from attending tournaments but as they've become less I've kind of dropped off the painting radar...

Until now. Sat on my shelves are parts of a new Eldar army: I've always had a hankering to do an Iyanden Ghost Warriors army and now I needed a target date. What better than a 1250 tournament at the end of January 2014 I hear you ask? What indeed.

So that's my target. A brand new 1250 point Eldar army by the 26 Jan 2014. Now that's a challenge and at least I know what I'll be doing over Christmas! All I need to do now is work out a colour scheme, buy some bits, build it, paint it and learn what the rules are. Easy right?

My army list as it stands (designed to keep the model count down)
Spiritseer
5 Wraithguard + Wave Serpent
5 Wraithguard + Wave Serpent
2 Vypers
Crimson Hunter
Wraithlord
Fire Prism

Here are some of the boxes on Sunday (Day 0):


And here's what I have built as of end Day 1 of the challenge:
 

So that's 1 squad and my HQ built. Don't get me started on the superglue + finecast excitement involved with the Spiritseer: if you look closely you'll see greenstuff acting as the holding material...

40 Days to go.