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Monday 24 September 2012

New Look White Dwarf

Hey all, just a quick note to say that, if you haven't already got your copy via subscription, make sure you pick up a copy of the new look White Dwarf (Oct 2012 edition). Quite simply, I think the overhauled format is fantastic!


The first major thing you'll notice is that the logo has been updated with a slightly retro feel. Once you get the mag out of the cellowrap, you'll also see that the chaos figure on the front has been finished in a nice glossy effect too... Lovely!

The layouts and colour pallettes throughout the magazine have all been revised and the approach to photography and other imaging has been updated inline with the new style guide too. My initial thought was that it now represents the high-end video game mags like Edge and I believe the whole publication is a little thicker too. All in all, a great new take on the magazine.  I'd be interested to see what the revised subs price will be, but for the moment, £9.00 a quarter is a right bargain, given the also-updated cover price of £5.50!!

Anyways, make sure you check it out, it's a cracking edition.

Laters

Tuesday 11 September 2012

A call to WAAAAAAAGH!! (Part 2!)

Hey everyone,

As promised, here's the second instalment of the Ork Kill Team post.


I really liked the new Ork Bomba kit when it was released and used the Kill Team as justification for picking one up. I tend to find that if I buy pieces without a real purpose, they languish in the box and eventually get demoted to the attic or under the bed.

This version is an upgraded version of the Dakkajet, fitted with an extra set of twin-linked shootas, assembled in a slightly different fit than the GW demo piece. The kit is really flexible, allowing multiple possible positions for the wings and rear tail pieces to be attached to the fusilage, as well as a choice of cockpit screens, rear gunner positions/engine covers and a host of other options. This way, no Ork aircraft in your force needs to look like any other, complementing their ramshackle approach to things.


For the pilot, I opted for the Tom-Cruise-esque aviators and headset. The finished version was re-painted, after originally following the painting guide published in White Dwarf. Although green skin itself isn't wholly realistic, the first version looked way too cartoony, so repainted him in the same method used on my Ork/Ripper Swarm marker.


The plane itself was spray-undercoated with Army Painter fur brown. I had originally intended to use Leather Brown, but Maelstrom didn't have any stock and I was typically impatient, so opted for the different shade and it actually worked out better, I think. The first basecoat was Mephiston Red, sprayed on with the airbrush (best seen in the shot above during a test game).


All the metal sections were basecoated Tin Bitz, before the whole model was washed with Ogryn Flesh. This later proved to be a slight oversight as the newer wash range is less opaque, and you can afford to be a bit more liberal on applications like this. Subsequently, I ended up repainting the majority of the armour plates, minus the joins, which was a pain in the can.... but there you go, a lesson for the next project...


The metal areas were drybrushed with Boltgun Metal and the red plates had some quite liberal edge highlights. I'd planned to heavily weather the piece, but wanted the edge details to be strong enough that they would show through in places. 

As nice as they are, I didn't want to cover the Dakkajet in the traditional chequered patterns, so opted for a more minimalistic approach to the decals. I used the normal two-part treatment of Micro-Set and Micro-Sol to get the best adhesion and finish on the transfer, although I first applied some gloss varnish to the area that the decal was going to sit. Once it was all dry, I used Lahmian Medium to seal the image and take off the gloss finish. I'd been a bit sceptical of this extra step, but I reckon it made a difference.


I used a mixture of red and brown weathering powders, very kindly donated by Dan, to weather the jet. I added some darker brown and black to the mix around the engine vents, exhausts and any other areas I figured would get particularly grubby.


I used the same muzzle flashes on a couple of the gun barrels that I'd used on the Ork Boys. I've experimented with painting these on some other figures, but opted for straight Ceramite White, which sems to do the job nicely.


This was one of the less spectacular moments in the Dakkajets short existence. It was piloted straight towards the chaos gun line and immobilised before being smashed apart by the Dreadnought (although there was a little bit of revenge as the resulting blast incapacitated a couple of the marines watching the carnage).

Anyways, that's the Ork Kill Team. Since playing those games, I've also tried out the Deathwatch Kill Team as well as a KT consisting of 14 Genestealers, so, in all honesty, I'm not sure how much more action the Green skins will see, but it was a good project to get wrapped up.

Laters all :D

Wednesday 5 September 2012

A call to WAAAAAAAGH!! (Part 1!)

Hey everyone,

I thought it was about time I got round to posting some shots of the Ork Kill Team I've just finished putting together. I'd not played 40K for some time, so have recently been playing the Kill Team mission from the Battle Missions book to get back into things. I've yet to get hold of the 6th ed rules (waiting for a pocket-sized rulebook from ebay :P) so am still rolling with the old rules. My opponents have been Dan of Hobby Before I Die (Chaos) and Olly from the Bearded Arts (Tau Empire). To be honest, the results with the Orks have only cemented the fact that their strength is definitely in numbers and really don't fit into the elite specialist role too well. That being said, the games have provided some cinematic (and slightly idiotic) moments!

At this point I'll throw in the caveat that these figures were purposely speed-painted to a battlefield standard. I've also been tinkering with the photography a bit which has allowed me to capture closer images that really highlight the imperfections of the painting style....


This guy is the squad leader (or Nob...) whose name is yet to be decided. He's armed with a big chopper and a bosspole. The skin tones were achieved using Gretchin Green (still on the old paint range!), washed with Ogryn Flesh and highlighted back up with the base colour. 


The Armour plates and other metallic areas were the first trial of Cold Steel from the Formula P3 range, which was recommended by Ron at From the Warp. This was also washed with Ogryn Flesh and highlighted back up with the Cold Steel. Both the Nob and Heavy Gunner had muzzle flashes and spent bullet casings added to the guns, and these were sourced from Armorcast in the US.


The light cloth areas were good-old Dheneb Stone; The darker clothing is Charadon Granite (which all the models were sprayed with as a first coat), washed and then weathered with a mix of brown and red powders.


I was keen to have each of the figures looking unique, and managed to get them all different by modifying a couple of pieces from the Ork Boys kit and kit bashing a few components from the Dakkajet kit...


The head of this boy was one of the optional pilot pieces from the Dakkajet and is one of the three nominated 'specialists' in the team, which has one of the universal special rules each game.



This is one of my favourite pieces in the Kill Team...



I was trying to avoid using the chainsword in the Kill Team as it didn't really fit the stealthy (as Orks can be...) elite team, but ended up using it to keep everything individual. I guess he'd be the one guy who gives the plot away as they approach the objective, with the chainsword on...?


Right; that's about that... part two with the support unit, the Dakkajet will follow (promise)

Laters!