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...

The Enclaves Revisited

Its been a while since i posted about my Tau but that hasnt stopped me adding to them. Those that follow me on Flickr will notice ive been adding to them.

so i guess its only fair to share.

 Stealth Teams. I never used to be a fan of stealth teams, just simply because I never had much luck with them. Obviously tau have now had there stompingly awesome new codex and stealth teams had a little upgrade in the form of an extra shot each.
So I gave them a play and man do they crack a punch now. I usually run a shas'vre with drone controller and 2 marker drones just so the unit can deal with their foe in one round.
So here's 2 of my teams, another 3 man team to come and eventually reaching full strength when I have some wonga rolling in...

Riptides. Tau bloody riptides.... What can I say about these absolute beauty's? A dream in every way shape and form!! A work of art of a multiparty kit. No cleaning needed with some of the simplest construction I have ever known of something this size, and to paint they are just brilliant! Leaving so much extra space to allow for whatever you want but not looking empty if you don't fill those flat surfaces.

And game wise omg! Yep I said oh my god in txt speech. (How cool am I?) only been used in one game and soon to be another but from one performance I don't think I will ever look back. Nuff said,



 The Rip-per Swarm ;)

Scratch Built Tau Defence line, gotta love defence lines... (more on that another day)

The Goodwin Project vol.6 Evidence Suggests a Job Slows Hobby Development!

When I set out on this project I didn't think (like a lot of projects I start) I would get anywhere near finishing it, let alone starting it!

And now here I am talking about it in its 6th volume! That's an achievement on its own...

Well as per the title suggests I still have no bloody job. I'm getting closer but nothing yet. For those that have recently joined my blog may just think Im a lazy jobless geek.
Truth is I country hop for my profession, spending seasons abroad and coming back to the uk soil just to rack up some pennies or await the next season.

Right now that's out the way back to hobby chat ;-)

And as the title suggests me having no job means I have had all the time in the world to focus on this project, amongst other projects.

So here is what I have been up too....

Dire Avengers

As you may recall from one of the previous instalments of the Goodwin Project I started with the colour scheme on the Exarch for these guys. So here they are in all their glory. I'm hoping to keep the greens flowing through all the units in this project. A nice simple pallet.

Avatar of Khaine

Well I'm not really a great fan of this guy, many a mistake were made whilst painting him and he took far too long which made me give up slightly. But I got there and here he stands. 

Bases and faces is an old saying from a friend of mine that makes a model stand out. So he has a glowing magma face and a simple yet effective base ;-).

Karandras the Shadow Hunter

This guy has had a ton of great feedback on my flickr pool. Also featuring on GWs flickr feed in white dwarf daily. I wanted him as simple as possible. Using just a handful of colours I managed to bang this guy out in a night. He's my fave model of the army, from the pose to the scheme. 

Even in the game I love him. Most are focused on a glowing avatar, towering wraithlord or lightning fast strikes from my falcon to even notice this guy! And he is not someone to forget about...

Scratch Built Objective markers
Bit of fun one afternoon.
I'll try and write up a bit more on these soon.

The Falcon has been started so another Eldar Update coming soon...