The Goodwin Project vol.8 - Progression...

A few things in life have got in the way but I'm back on it and progression is being made!

The falcon is almost complete, currently about 70% done maybe?

Keeping with the Biel-Tan thorn idea Games Workshop introduced for them but slightly more intricate. And the continued ancient Gold colouring found on Karandras and the Dire Avengers for weaponry and engines.

To prevent myself from getting bored with the incredibly long process that is painting the falcon I thought I'd start on the howling banshees also. You know, to spice things up a little...

I wanted the banshees to be almost white but continuing with the green palette throughout so they started with a base coat of a darker green and layered up through to white. This allowed the green to continue to be the shade.
The banshee exarch though may need to be stripped back down as the suits exhausts didn't clean up well without me noticing. Or in a worst case scenario re bought if it's a casting flaw.
My fault really for being a tad impatient maybe?

40k on a budget? Fact or Fiction? Part 1

is it possible?

i think so...

i guess it is a matter of choosing your army carefully and knowing what to look for miniature wise.

So what i have done is chose Eldar (again), as they are rather an elite army. very specialist in what options are available to them, making them pretty much as small or large as you want. im going for a small army obviously, dont want to be spending to much cash.

the beauty of the eldar miniature range as well is they they have changed so many times over the 20ish years they have been circulating that there is plenty of  models out there for any bargain hunter to grab their hands on.
car boot sales, gumtree, eBay even old friends clearning out their garages.

i chose a nice 1500 point list to have a play with to see what i could get my hands on over the course of a couple of weeks.
it was open to change as i could obviously not guarantee what i was able to get hold of cheap.

the list was as follows. (please note this is not a serious army but in games it is actually considerably annoying!! for your opponent anyway, i found it quite comical).

Illic - 140
Autarch - 165
Uldanorethi Long Rifle, Mantle of the Laughing God. Warp Jump Generator & Power Sword

6 Pathfinders - 150
6 Pathfinders - 150
6 Pathfinders - 150
6 Pathfinders - 150
6 Pathfinders - 150
6 Pathfinders - 150

3 Dark Reapers - 146
Starswarm & Starshot Missiles. Exarch - Fast shot & Marksmans Eye
3 Dark Reapers - 146
Starswarm & Starshot Missiles. Exarch - Fast shot & Marksmans Eye

Total 1497



So now with the plan underway its time to grab some models.

first stop is my bits boxes to see what i could find lying around. and in luck i found my first 3 Dark readers and 4 rangers. Win!!

Ebay was my next bet as usually alot of old eldar models have been replaced with plastics now which is great as these are easy to strip of old paint jobs.

does it matter if the models are current? No not really. the model still reprisents what it reprisents so whether it is 20 years old or 2 years old as long as they are still in the codex we are game.
in my case though i would rather them be the older ranger/scout models as these can make way for the newer models being my HQ choices.

after a good few hours trawling ebay i found 2 auctions for eldar rangers. the first was a whole 22 rangers. 16 old and 6 new. and the second was for a further 9 old rangers.
£16 posted spent on the 2 auctions. Baragin!!

so thats 25 older minis to fit in the ranks nicely giving me 29 now and from the 6 newer models i have the 2 i need for my HQ choices.

I didnt intend to buy the Illic model especially for this little project as i think one of the current ranger models is similar enough to pass off as "counts as".




so 7 more rangers to go and 3 dark reapers...




i found my final 3 reapers on ebay again but with a few days to go on the auction. and with the weekend in sight i hit the local car boot sales to see if i could get my reapers and rangers.
in luck i came home with 10 more rangers. £5 spent and beautifully painted in Dulux?????
no reapers though so back to ebay it was...

eventually winning the 3 reapers for £4.50 posted.

£25.50 and i have my army. can you believe it?




so with some care and a little paint stripper heres what this pest of an army looks like...

So my Pathfinder Army in all its glory. with a few close ups of some Pathfinder units

 

Heavy Fire support from the Dark reapers

 

my "counts as" Illic.

Bald head, sniper rifle, cloak and mesh armour, with a cool base. about sums it up really ;)

 

And last but not least the Autarch. simply made from a current Ranger model and a modified Warp Spider Exarch generator. just looking for a suitable power sword for him and he's complete.

It just needs painting now but i have lots of other things to get on with so these guys may just have to wait....

... or maybe not, who knows?

So there you have it, 40k on a budget
hope you have enjoyed the very long read!!





 

Now for Something a Little Different...

I had a friend ask me to help him get started on his sisters of battle army for him for a few pennies.

so with not alot else to do and no real money coming in i obviously said yes :)

not alot to say in this blog just thought i would show off something a little different that i have been up to.

these models do really stand the test of time well. of course they do though they are another Jes Goodwin masterpiece.

The Patient Hunter. Making a Tau Defence Line

Aegis defence lines are pretty handy in a game of 40k dont ya think?

But and aegis defence line is for those imperialist peeps.

So simply put, here is my Tau Defence Line.

Using a PVC corner strip. the ones you shove in your bathroom corners and silicon around. know the ones i mean? dont remember the technical name for them.

These were cut to the length of the GW aegis defence line approx 5inch for the long edge and 2inch for the short. And as per the rule book it comprises of 4 short pieces and 4 long.

 

I cut strips of plasticard to the length of the defence line and simply just cut the shapes out. trimming them arrox a mil off of each edge so they created grooves the panelling.

 

These then got bent to the curve of the pvc cornering. not nessesserily (check spelling) neatly as once glued in place these can be filled back smooth.

super glue in place. using super glue basically fuses PVC. it really isnt coming off once on there so careful when you attach the card.

 

the rears are fairly simple just strips of pre bought plasticard square rod cut and glued in place. i didnt want to go all over detailed with them but it is completly possible with spare computer panneling or you could easily do more panelling like on the fornt.

the PVC cornering has an annoying hole through the middle so this was simply just covered by these rough little traingle bits of plasticard.

also when they are placed side by side gives a better feel to the defence line i think than 2 walls simply attatched.

 

 

a quick spray up and the sponge comes out. sponged with a silver then brown for dirt. a few Tau markings and done. less than an afternoons work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Goodwin Project Vol.7 The List Revisit

Since the start of the Goodwin project Eldar had a new Codex. Damn you GW for producing cool stuff!! So what that simply means is I have to re write my army list from vol.2. This also means that as you may have noticed some units have changed along the way.
Basically I had a guy message me saying that I was painting stuff that wasn't in my list and what was in my list wasn't shown in the project.
Cheeky. It's my project and I'll do as I dam well please. But saying that I guess it would be kind to update the list.

So here is the new 1500pts Goodwin Project Biel-tan Eldar


The Avatar of Khaine: Fast Shot; Monster Hunter. 215

Karandras 230

5 Howling Banshees: Howling Banshee Exarch (shuriken pistol; executioner; Fear; Shield of Grace). 110

5 Striking Scorpions: Striking Scorpion Exarch (biting blade). 100

5 Fire Dragons: Fire Dragon Exarch (firepike; Fast Shot). 145


8 Dire Avengers: Dire Avenger Exarch (power weapon and shimmershield). 134

5 Rangers 60


Wraithlord: flamer; ghostglaive; bright lance.145

Falcon: Ghostwalk Matrix; Spirit Stones; Holo-fields; scatter laser. 170

5 Dark Reapers: Dark Reaper Exarch (Eldar missile launcher with plasma and starshot missiles; flakk missiles; Fast Shot); Reaper Launcher. 190

1,499 points

Loving everything about this new codex to be honest. The eldar are super fast and effective again. And the avatar is a Fookin tank again!! Plus with added upgrades he can slice a hive tyrant in two in a single combat phase as I did this week!
And I love dark reapers even more than I ever did now they can move and shoot!!


Remember kids this is not a competitive army but a display force but gaming legal. So please no one say you should do this and that and drop this and that...