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 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)

Goodwin Project Vol.5 A long time waiting

I'M BAAAAAAAAACK!!!

it has been a long time in the waiting. approx 8 months away from the hobby but now im back.

at first i picked up some Tau to get them ready for a challenge, kinda half finished them before the game but ran out of time. that was my first dose of being back in the chair.

now im back in full swing with the Goodwin Project! many things have changed since ive been away. Eldar got a new codex for starters!!! and for me it meant a whole new project direction!
the aim of the goodwin project is to produce a fighting force as well as a display piece so it was back to the drawing board with the army selection.

almost everything in the army got better, so it was too much choice to handle. so i kept to the same concept as before and tried to select a unit from each of the aspects. kept the rangers and wraithlord. in fact all i think i did was add a falcon and avatar to the list dropping the farseer and a squad of dire avnegers but making one of them larger!!
alls cool with that as i have plenty sitting about, and it just meant fitting it in 1500pts.

after about a week of hobby (the joys of being unemployed at the moment) the army has dramatically shifted in presentation.

 the Falcon, with classic weaponry, plus imho the best. few bits on order at the mo for vehicle upgrades

 the dark reaper exarch  now complete with eldar missle launcher, had to sculpt a hand as i didnt have one available (do now so may change) few tassles to hide a bad sculpt ;)

even the wraithlord has had a change in image, the loin cloth has been added with banner attatched to his pointy things. a couple of further robes added to his back also. of and a lonely chaos marine head to the base.

 

i chose against the smaller avatar model in the end. after playing a couple of games with them using the little guy it was a tad unfair as something so small with so much power was a tad overkill. am i sporting or what??

he had his mane resculpted due to not liking the one he comes with, and obviously a few body reposes

 and finally i started to actually paint them. im looking to have the same scheme throughout the army, not fussed with aspect colours i want to keep biel tans iconic green and white colours.

hope you like...

until next time!!


 

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.