Phats Cats Demo team - Operation Salute!

So after the 2015 Salute day out with the AvP Temple, we all decided to take a breather for 2016 and go as punters....

That was until some bright spark came up with the idea of doing a 15mm scale table for a cold war gone hot game called Team Yankee, At this point the game was yet to be released and no official word had gone out on the game so in a moment of madness I agreed.

As a test paint I picked up aload of 15mm T-55's and blasted them out a while back, and sussed out the green that I was looking for, 

So when the  stuff did rock up in the end the Russians were handed to myself and the build build began!

 The hinds were quite tricky to assemble and being fancy I used the magnets on the flight stands as well as the rotor blades,

However the T-72's were a doddle to put together and I flew through these in a couple of days, I also did the BMP2's as well whilst I was at it, 

After some discussion with Phil we sussed out the infantry that we were going to use and compared to the armour it was bugger all!

 

So after a quick dry brush and picking out some of the details, followed by a wash the infantry was ready for basing 

The ground forces in all there glory! Phil was trying to see if we could get some more bits and bobs for the Russians, but I managed to convince him not to bother! 

Armoured infantry section 

Airborne infantry 

And talking of airborne, I tackled the the Hind's last as I couldn't decide how to do them, so I thought back to how I did the mushrooms for panzerfaust and decided to give it a crack!

So a brown base coat

blu tac for the spot camo 

Re-spray green and hey presto! Looks good enough to me! 

The rotor blades I also was a tad cheeky, I sprayed them black, then dusted with panzer grey and then a light dusting of grey primer and again look spot on

All I needed to do was pick out the detail, do the underneath sky blue and apply some transfers, 

So the Thursday before Salute myself and Phil bought all the bits down and assembled the table to see if it looked ok and see if anything else needed any quick fixes 

I was well chuffed with the Russains and they looked wicked on the board

The American battle line

And the over all table, 

These never actually made it to the table as I didn't get them finished in time, but the club no doubt will be taking this table to various shows so these will get some use! 

The table got quite alot of attention from the punters at salute and the guys over at battle front loved it enough for it to make the website!

http://www.team-yankee.com

A massive well done to Phil pictured above who came up with the crazy idea and sorted out the build the terrain for the table. However I'd love a break now please.......

But what of the Salute pictures that I normally splash all over the blog?

Well due to "work commitments" I was unable to go, To say that I was disappointed is an understatement and god help them when the employee survey comes out in Oct.

"Super" Edd's Hobby Project Phase Two overview,

"Super" Edd's project is still tanking along and the quality of painting that the guys and girls are pumping out is superb!

A couple of months ago at Phase Two I asked the loyalist players for a picture of their armies and a few words so without further ado and in no particular order....

Ed - 

Really enjoyed how this months pledge has turned out in the end... Really looking forward to getting started on my March Pledge of a Second squad of Veletaris and a Third Leman Russ Incinerator

Adam - 

This month I added 2nd Tactical Squad (with power fist armed sergeant), 2 Apothecaries and a set of Lascannon armed Tarantulas. After last pledges games I found my army to be seriously lacking in anti armour punch. The quickest way to remedy that appeared to be the Tarantulas, having good played this month with them they underperformed more due to poor dice than anything (and a Thanatar based mishap)
The apothecaries on the other hand performed admirably providing my Tactical marines with some much needed resilience! 

Liam - 

My phase 2 pledge removed the rhino veterans, and replaced them with more Jetbikes. As we finally got White Scars rules (and rites of war), i was able to use these as troops. I also added in a Javelin Land Speeder and a Sicaran Venator for some fast moving AT weapons.

Next up? Legion 3 of the Shattered Legions.

Micheal - 

 Pledge 2. I swapped out my heavy plasma squad for a plasma gun squad to allow me to move and fire in the same turn. I added a terminator squad to assist with my Praetor. I also took my assault squad to assist in causing havoc....Over all some great games. My Praetor and Terminators were worth there weight in gold. The ability to move and fire plasma assisted me greatly...my down side was having no vehicles to get my Praetor and terminators in close and personnel as they were armed for close combat however my next pledge will see my army coming in from the air via drop pods/deep strike.  

  
Ben - 

My aim each pledge level is to use it to motivate me to make and paint models in my 'yet to do' collection. I'm also notoriously slow at painting so I'm always looking to reduce the body count so as not to overwhelm myself with too much painting to do - that way I can concentrate on more of a quality finish. Initially I was looking to do additions only but for month three I'm looking at swapping out the two Thanatars.

Gordon - 

I've added an extra troops choice (Assault Squad) to this month's pledge as I wanted to get finished the troop choices for my Blood Angels force that I have written. Also for future pledges I want to add more vehicles to the force. 

Tom - 

It's all about the armour this month, added a sicaran and a heavy support squad. Quite impressed with both but I think the lack of numbers held me back in a couple of games. Rhino is for the next pledge

   
Once Phase 4 is complete at the end of the month then we'll see where the Loyalists are at and how they are finding the project,

For myself the  Emperors Children are coming along nicely and after falling behind due to painting various demo team boards and the like I'm finally back up to speed!

So after a bit of a hardcore session I've once more actually ran out of models for the 30K project and after consulting with my nemesis I'm pondering on what next to buy for the force, I'm tempted with more foot troops however I'm lacking in the armour dept!

So this is my Phase 4 pledge, its starting to bulk out nicely, and hopefully the heavy weapon squad will be a thorn in the side for all the armour kicking around! 

And the the group shot, a bit of flexibility with a couple of extra units 

The heavy weapon chaps

and the blades, I'm going to put jump packs on these guys I simply need to get them ordered and magnetise them as needed,

new additions to the army, 2 medic's and a master of the signal as well as company champion so I can take advantage of the army special rules

Bill & Ted the contemptors, Toying with adding a 3rd and He'll be call Rufus ;) 

 The business side of them, to make the Calth contemptor look a ta more funky I got hold of a etched brass sheet and simply suck them on and it does the trick lovey!

 So now that these are sorted, I'll be at warhammer world on the 1st May to get some more pics of the various armies and maybe, just maybe get a chance to roll some dice!!

Paintng 30K thousand sons - Via Dan the Man

Recently the 30K system has become quite popular at the club and Dan has choosen the Thousand Sons as his Legion and produced some of the most gorgeous models I've seen for a long time!

Anyway over to Dan for his how to guide!

Everytime I post a picture of my pre-Heresy Thousand Sons someone asks me how I achieve the above effect.  If I were to describe it, it is like the metallic colour you get with cars.  Given that I keep promising to write a tutorial explaining my method I thought I’d better pull my finger out and actually do it!  First off, let me say a big thank you to Mr Anarchy himself, Anton, for agreeing to host this tutorial mainly so I didn’t have to create and look after a blog myself.  

Right! Enough procrastination; let’s crack on shall we?

THE MATERIALS

The paints

Primer.  Enough said really.  I’ve read that a gloss primer works best for this effect but having tried it I can honestly say I can’t tell the difference between a gloss and a matt primer.  A properly prepared model is the only requirement I would put on this.

Minitaire Ghost Tint (Fresh Blood in my case).The translucent/metallic effect is achieved using a relatively recent addition to the painter's’ pallette often referred to as “clear paint” or “candy colours”.  I first encountered it last year at Derby World Wargames show where I saw a few examples of how clear paints could be used to achieve some really interesting effects.  There are a number of ranges available; Forgeworld do a range of these for instance, however I use Minitaire Ghost Tint Fresh Blood exclusively for my Thousand Sons.  To be honest I’ve not used anything else so I couldn’t say with any authority whether other options are better or worse.  I bought mine from Barwell Bodyworks (where I also buy most of my airbrushing equipment - links below).  You will often find them at wargaming shows as well where they have the full range for sale.

You will also need a couple of shades of metallics; one darker and one lighter.  I use Vallejo Model Air colours Gunmetal and Steel.  I find Vallejo Air metallics to be the best quality metallic paints in my experience but, again, can’t say I’ve tried them all.

Finally you will need a brown tone shade.  I use brown tone because it keeps the translucent red vibrant whereas a black tone makes the shadows harsher.  I’d recommend experimenting to see which works best for you but the process is the same regardless of the tone of shade you use.  Personally I use GW Agrax Earthshade simply because I have gallons of the stuff in the house!

Airbrush

I appreciate that an airbrush and compressor can be a significant investment for the hobbyist however I cannot emphasise how much having one has revolutionised my painting.  I apply all my basecoats with an airbrush now and also prime all of my models using it as well.  For the rest of this tutorial you can assume I have applied all coats using an airbrush unless I state otherwise.  Most critically, the application of the ghost tint works best through an airbrush if only because it applies it in an even layer.  You can apply it with a brush but you have to be very careful not to let the colour pool and drip which will mar the overall finish.

I won’t say anymore about airbrushes as that’s not the focus of this tutorial, however there is loads of really great advice about what to get and how to use one, on the web.  Google is your friend (although it might be spying on you).

Other materials

Masking tape!  There are a number of “gotchas” when using ghost tints that I discovered the hard way.  I’ll discuss how masking tape can help you avoid one of them in the method below.

THE METHOD

1. If you attach your models to their bases before painting and use an airbrush then I strongly recommend you mask off the base before starting.  Ghost tint pigment can bleed through light colour paints applied directly over the top of it.  I use desert themed bases for my Thousand Sons and the first time I painted it over a ghost tint sprayed based the red pigment ruined the base which meant I had to remove the paint and ghost tint from the base before starting again.  Since then I have masked off my bases before starting.  I’ll cover what to do for painting light coloured details on the model itself later in this method.
   
2. After priming, base coat the model in your dark metallic colour, Vallejo Model Air Gunmetal in my case.  Make sure to get an even coat over all of the areas you will be applying your ghost tint over later.  For my Thousand Sons, this means the whole model.
   
3. Give the model a “zenithal” highlight with your lighter coloured metallic.  At least it is referred to an a zenithal highlight, although literal use of the word means something different.  This is painting tutorial though not a language lesson so let me explain what I mean.  If you shine a light on your model from a high angle you will notice some of the surfaces catch the light whilst others remain in the shade.  By doing a zenithal highlight we’re replicating this effect using different shades of paint.  This is simple using an airbrush; you basically spray down onto the model from an angle approximately 60 degrees from the horizontal all the way around it.  In the image below your work surface is along A, your model is at B and your airbrush at C,

You can do this manually without an airbrush although it is more time consuming.  My top tip to do this would be to actually shine a lamp down onto the model and paint the areas where the light hits, the light colour.  Eventually you will be able to do this without using this trick but it’s a great way to learn where to apply highlights!






Next we’re going to apply a pin wash to the model, in my case with Agrax Earthshade.  By pin wash I mean applying the wash with a brush just to the creases and crevices on the model that a wash would settle in to.  This has the effect of creating shadows on the finished model but within the tone of the ghost tint finish.  The neater you pin wash the better the final effect will be.  You’ll notice I’m not particularly neat but then I’m old and clumsy ...

 

Apply the ghost tint over the areas of the model you want.  Again in the case of my Thousand Sons, this is the entire model.  

I recommend you apply the ghost tint in two or three thin coats rather than trying to get an even coat at the first attempt.  The ghost tint is very thin in consistency; it will go through an airbrush without having to thin it any further but that means if you apply too much it will drip and pool which ruins the effect.  The first coat may even appear patchy but don’t worry, once it is dry (I would allow a minimum of five hours between coats) the second coat will give it that deep, vibrant colour.  You can apply further coats if you want to deepen the colour but I normally find two coats to be sufficient to achieve the desired effect.

Make sure you clean thoroughly whatever tools you have used to apply the ghost tint be they manual or airbrushes.  The ghost tint dries like a varnish so it’s really important to make sure you clean up properly to maintain your equipment.  Fortunately it’s water soluble so cleaning up is very easy.  For your airbrush I recommend using a good airbrush cleaning solution as well to make sure you’ve completely flushed the ghost tint out of your airbrush.

 

Finally pick out the details on your model to finish it off!  There are a few tips for where you have to paint over ghost tinted areas:

As I mentioned earlier, the pigment in the ghost tint can bleed through light colours if they are applied directly over the tint.  My Thousand Sons have a fair amount of white on them.  When I first tried this the white kept turning pink as the tint bled through.  I found that base coating the areas I wanted to be white with a darker colour first prevented this bleed through.  For white I use a dark grey base (GW Mechanicum Grey to be specific).

Even colours that don’t suffer from a bleed through benefit from some kind of primer base before application.  The ghost tint finish can be tricky for other paints to adhere to properly.  Black paint or even a wash with something like Nuln Oil will help matters enormously.
You can weather your models just like you would do any other model.  I keep it low key as I like the cleaner look.  One trick that is very effective is a selective edge highlight in silver here and there on some sharp edges that would get bashed and chipped.

Conclusion

That’s it really!  I keep the weapons separate from my models for painting for ease of painting.  In the photos above I kept entire arms separate but since then I’ve found it’s better to have the arms fixed onto the model and just keep the weapons separate.

Links

Barwell Bodywork - nice people selling great stuff!

http://www.badger-airbrush.co.uk/minitaire.html

what go on?

So the anarchy has been a bit dark recently due to a number of reasons but nothing to be overly concerned about folks as I'm going to get back on track with regular posts and the like,

so as it only right I put a picture of something, here's a snap from the Mushroom Head gig a couple of weeks ago, 

I was the "driver" for Mr Smith and wasn't too sure what to expect and if you've never listened to there music before then give it a crack it was absolutely banging and the energy on stange was cracking!

anyway lets get the show on the road!