A New Year...

Although my posts have been sporadic to say the least, I am still working on a bunch of stuff at the moment. The first to be completed will be the Deathwing squad from Dark Vengeance that I hope to have done in the coming week. I would also like to mention that my Washington Redskins are now the NFC East Champions and I couldn't be more excited about it. As a life-long, die hard 'Skins fan, this is a dream come true and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for the team that I love so much. Also, happy 5 year anniversary to my lovely wife!

Still alive...

Well, I had a brief absence from posts due to increased stress from work, a brief foray back in to World of Warcraft, and now Halo 4 and CoD: Black Ops II. I am still going as strong as I can with a much of stuff on the work bench just waiting for me to finish it.

The top of that list is my small Word Bearers army (Tactical squad + Rhino, Warptalons, Terminators, Dark Apostle, and Forgefiend) that I am working on. Besides that, I have a random assortment of other models begging for paint. I am also looking forward to the upcoming year and the chance to enter more painting contests... I think it will be a good one.

On the workbench

A quick hobby update:

I picked this guy up on Friday and couldn't wait to get some paint on him! This is probably my favorite GW sculpt and this model has been a blast to paint so far. The skin on this nasty is actually pretty complex:

• RMS Dark Shadow
• VGC Bronze Fleshtone
• GW Dwarf Skin
• GW Elf Skin
• RMS Moldy Skin (on wounds)
• GW Orgyn Flesh
• VGC Purple Ink (in the shadows)
• SWM Red Black wash
• GW Elf Skin (zenithal highlight)
• RMS Dark Highlight (strengthen the shadows)
• VGC Purple Ink (bruises around the belly wounds)

This is roughly the order I did the skin... and in hindsight, I should have done the skin with the arms attached too. I just hope I can replicate it to some degree when I paint the arms holding his weapon. I hope to have him complete some time early next week. I will loose most of tomorrow because I got tickets to the Redskin's home opener against the Bengals.

HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!

Showcase: Deathwing Terminator

This the first of my Deathwing Terminators. Enjoy!

Deathwing WIP

First of the Deathwing Terminator squad from the Dark Vengeance box set.

Showcase: Iron Warriors Terminator Lord

Here it is, the completed Iron Warriors Terminator Lord. Side note, I trimmed the tree down because I was told that it looked too big so these pictures don't reflect how it currently looks. Enjoy!

Small hobby update!

So my first painting contest is over. I took home the trophy for Best Vehicle/Monster (I'd also like to admit that it was the only entry in that category...), which was nice. My Grey Knights didn't win, which is okay. I know I made some rookie errors in the painting but everyone seemed impressed by it, especially considering I've only been in the hobby for 6 months. The NOVA Open is this weekend and I was encouraged by some people to enter some of my work, but I don't feel I am there yet. I hope to have the confidence next year to enter some things. We'll see...

I do have a new project I am working on, aside from still working on a small Raptors force (and of course there are my Ultramarines...). Allow me to present my Chaos Terminator Lord!
 

My little dumpster cat

That is a photo of one of my cats, Pippin. Yes, he is named after the character from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Unfortunately, Pippin had to be put to sleep today after only four years of life. People that know me personally know that I have two other cats (Chet & Gimli) and some non-cat owners or non-pet people don't understand what it is like to lose a cat, especially if you have more than one. Well, it hurts. Bad. Especially if you (my wife and I) are the one's to make the choice to end their life. It was one of the most difficult choices I've even made in my 30 years on this planet and it will weigh heavily on my heart for years to come. In the end, however, I feel it was the correct choice to make considering he was suffering from kidney failure.

How Pippin came to live with my wife and I (and later our kids) is something I will never forget. Shortly after my wife and I got married (December 31, 2007), my lovely bride came down with baby-fever. Of course, I wanted no part of having kids since I had only been married for a couple of months. Well, unknown to me, my cousin Cheryl (my wife's best friend) who was living in Georgia at the time, stumbled upon a 4 week old kitten near a dumpster. My cousin is the consummate animal lover, having rescued numerous animals in the years prior, mainly while working at various animal hospitals. In typical fashion, she decided to save him from a probable death at the hand of a bobcat, car, or starvation. She informed my wife of the new edition and in the following days, made the drive to Northern Virginia where we live for a routine visit, kitten in hand. My wife fell in love with it immediately, finding it to be a suitable baby replacement. Not being able to say no to my wife, I reluctantly agreed to let him stay in our apartment with our two other cats. I have a problem with stuff like that...

Things with him went as good as they can with such a tiny kitten. We went through the normal growing pains with a kitten. During litter box training, he peed on my bed. I of course was livid, and after stewing about it at work all day, I came home and demanded he be taken back to Georgia by my cousin. My wife, hysterical, scooped him up and went in to the other bedroom. She clutched him, tears rolling down her checks, and just held him up to her chest. Needless to say, I recanted. He became a full fledged member of my family. In the years to come, he became known as the "friendly one" out of my cats. He loved to be near people... kids, adults, complete strangers. He was very loving to my wife and I and surprisingly, tolerated my older daughter for the last three years, despite all the tail pulling and fur grabbing that is associated with infants and toddlers. He was often found sleeping on our bed, more than likely under the comforter curled up in a little ball. He would even snuggle in the crib with our first daughter, stretched out along side her.

I believe animals that are rescued understand what their person did for them and will be forever grateful. They repay that display of kindness with unquestioning love and loyalty to their people. Pippin was a prime example of that. Animal owners know in the bottom of their hearts that they will likely outlive their pets and I am forever thankful for having him in my life, even if it was not long enough.

Showcase: Raptors Rhino APC

The Rhino is now complete! Please enjoy these photos.

Huzzah Hobbies Painting Contest

I have finished my next model for the Huzzah Hobbies Painting contest that is rapidly approaching on August 18th. The model is a Space Marine Rhino APC painted in the Raptors chapter colors. The model features a painted interior and is fully weathered with paint chipping, rust & grime stains, and dried mud. The model will be mounted (and removable) on a wooden plaque for the contest.

As I was unsatisfied with the results of my last Stormtalon (even though the model is incomplete), I have begun work on the next one. Also, I am taking pictures of the painting process so I can make a tutorial on how I did it. Look forward to that in coming posts as well as pictures of the complete Rhino.

Showcase: Grey Knight Terminator Display Board

The display board is nearing 100% completion and I am very pleased with the results. The models themselves need a little touching up, but nothing major. I will give a detailed post on how I created the display in a later post.

Painting Contest

With the Grey Knight Terminators nearing completion, I need to start turning my attention to my next entry into my local painting contest. I would like to enter a vehicle into the contest, but I have not decided which one I should paint. I have a few ideas, but nothing set in stone.

New Grey Knight project...

About a week ago, I was at my local hobby shop, Huzzah Hobbies, and the owner Chris invite me to stay for my first game of 40K.

 We had some time to kill waiting for some more players and he asked me when I will bring in some of the models I've painted. I've been buying from him for about 4 of the 6 months I've been in to the hobby (I quickly learned that GW shops are too pushy and expensive). Since I came straight from work, I had nothing with me except my phone. I showed him some pictures and he seemed genuinely impressed by my work. He then asked me to submit an entry in the painting contest for his shops' birthday. So this long winded story is how we get to Grey Knights...

Stormtalon Gunship WIP

So far this thing has been a blast to paint! Painting it sub-assemblies has been easier than I originally thought and I am currently 70% complete!

Stormtalon Gunship

I got my hands on one of these bad boys today. There has been a lot of talk around the web about how much people dislike this model. Personally, I enjoy the look and I feel that it fits with the Space Marine aesthetic perfectly.

Progress!

The scout squad is almost complete. I have all the bodies done and now all I need to finish is two guns and heads. I also took my first crack at camo patterns.

New loot!

First of many [update]

I have made some (read: not much) progress on my Raptors army. I have one scout complete and the rest of the squad near completion.

Some of my work

Here are a few pictures of other work that I have done: