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?

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...

The Goodwin Project vol.4 strippers!

So with the majority of the miniatures are here with the odd few still to come, Dark reapers and swooping hawks, I thought I would get a head start with stripping some of them down.

Now this isn't going to be tutorial on how to strip miniatures as from experience, other bloggers have got alot of stick from readers about the stuff used to strip thier minis of paint.
So this is simply just an update on how the army is going and some of the products you can use to strip miniatures.

Nitromors "green" the supermarket available version. Less toxic but I would still use a face mask and rubber gloves! dont use this on plastic minis or in a plastic tub. and obviously do your best not to get anything on your hands despite wearing gloves!!

Dettol, my school used to use this when you cut your leg in the playground to clean it up. Now I use it to strip paint. This stuff stinks but is a lot more safe than nitromors, plus it's cheaper and more readily available! also a great benefit of this is it doesnt melt plastic like nitromors.

i usually leave them in soak for a couple of hours, then give them a scrub with a tooth brush. Then pop back into soak. Remember to still use gloves and a mask though. It's safe but stinks in large quantities.

Sealing the top keeps the whiff in!

Karandras all cleaned up and converted into a challenging pose. The step down from the emblem to engage his victim! May their gods protect them!

the wraithlord in all his glory, cleaned and ready for spraying.

some of the aspect warriors. just need to order some more bases as i cant find anymore lying around.

 

 

 

 

i managed to aquire the older avatar miniature for the army. look at him all cute next to the current version. still think its an epic mini though and will take centre place when i choose not to use the farseer.

the mini i managed to get was missing his cloak but not to worry, a bit of plasticard later for create the basic shape before green stuffing the folds onto it.

 

more to come very soon

Death Guard Legion Standard Bearer. Warhammer Nurgle Lord Conversion

Remember that chap I photographed the other day, well this is about him...

Another Facebook painting competition to paint the warhammer Nurgle Lord, the rule simply states he just had to start as that figure.

So I was having a think, and thought, space marine, deathguard!!
I'm on it like a car bonnet!!

The standard bearer bit came later...

After a bits box rummage I found a helmet for him, and well, that was it...
So a helmet is all I've got, that will be all I use!!

After filing down a lot of his armour to make it more one piece sections rather than the plating it was I started to cut back the legs and left arm to thin them down ready for some green stuffing.
I sculpted in the soft armour around the back of his legs and a broken chest plate, then added the shoulder pad and helmet.
I then realised no backpack, but luckily bring nurgle you can usually get away with plenty of things. The nurgle daemon prince being the inspiration for this. Bone exhausts perturbing from his back, then I though a hose running from his helmet to this monstrosity was next. Out comes the guitar strings.






The weapon was next... A scythe just gotta be a scythe!! Then after looking at his helmet, something as dramatic as a scythe wouldn't fit his less dramatic look. So I sat thinking. A banner maybe?
So a banner bearer he became.

Grabbing some styrene rod I cut away chip pings from it to match the existing theme of the axe that lived before it. Pinned it too his hands and voila!!

The flag itself was a bent piece of plasticard simply cut to shape.

Day 1 over!!


Day 2 meant the green stuff was dry. I can now glue the hose in place as it pulled on the wet green a little too much and ruined its shape, and I can remove the exhausts to cut their shape also. Luckily green stuffs hold on the subject it's attached too isn't great so these easily break free. Then simply super glue in place after.

The last sculpting is now taking place, the rest of the armour to bulk him back out and the trim of the power armour.
A last minute rummage found me a couple of skulls and a pistol in holster so these were added to the base and thigh, and top of banner pole.
Glue the banner in place and done!

Now to spray him up and paint!

Now I wanted to see if I can stand the test of time and evolve my painting skill to all the cool shading and non metallic metals people are producing today. So a lot of research was done before I started. Not on colour but on technique. So if anything this chap is a beta project.

The shading around the armour seemed simple enough simply progressive layers, though that's what I did. Whether there's a better technique out there I dunno!
The skin was done the same I wanted it greeny so a base of green was applied, then simply mixed the colour I wanted it to be more and more each layer.
The non metallic metals were fun, on the trim of his armour and his chain mail. Again similar to shading the amour, just pick where a static light source would come from and layer lighter colours to the closest point of the light source. And a thin line of white to give it some life!
I found some 3d shapes on the net that helped a lot too!

Whether I created the effect or not correctly I learnt a lot through painting this guy and I will continue to use what I've learnt.
So watch out for my eldar in the Goodwin project as I will be using what I learnt on them.