Where is everybody at?

Because I'm an inquisitive chap, may I ask that each person who visits the blog for the first time leaves a comment mentioning where they are? Just the town/city and country to give me an insight as to where my blog is reaching. If you have visited before, would you leave a message anyway? (just the once)

Please feel free to leave a comment

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Work to resume soon

I know I have been a lazy slug and I need to get back on the case of those pesky little models. So in an effort to speed things up I listened to my daughter, who told me off because my work area was somewhat chaotic, and sorted the table out. I now have a tidier work area with all the brushes organised into either sets or use, drybrush, ink brushes, brushes for metallic, dark and light paints. I suspect that the tidiness won’t last as I’m sure that I will need a paint that’s on the bottom level of the paint case and it will soon end up looking like there’s been an explosion of colour again. Anyway, I present my nice tidy work area.

workdesk

Over in the far left corner you can see the boxes of models that are yet to be opened, on top of that pile are the Finecast models. Between that pile and the main paint case is a box that has two WIP Dreadnoughts, a WIP 5 man Terminator Assault Squad and spare paints. Cans of undercoat and the main paint case which contains around 160 paints, it’s only supposed to hold 140. At the front of the table on the left you can see the tool box that contains sculpting tools, pin vices, various glues and needle files. Beneath the tool box is a craft knife set that contains different styles of handles and blades. To the right of the tool box are the paint brush holders, I haven’t counted the brushes but there’s a fair few, possibly around 60. Just to the right of the brushes you can see a box of Millliput two part epoxy putty, (other brands of putty are available) Finally there is the workstation itself. Also covered in paint pots, a water container, a pot containing the small components of the barges and in the middle on top of the cutting board are the sub assemblies of the barge.

The workstation was a bit of a treat as a good friend gave me an online voucher so the workstation and a couple of brushes were bought with that voucher, Just after the release of the new Necron models I was given another voucher and that was used to get a box of Finecast Flayed Ones.

So there you go, all sorted and ready to get back in the chair and start wielding brushes again.

See you soon. Smile

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Normal service will resume

I've taken a brief hiatus from the project due to my head melting (again). Work will restart soon.
:o)

Thursday 16 August 2012

Slow progress

Last night I continued putting together sub assemblies for the barges, I now have as much done as I can, there's just a couple of sections to finish building and then I gan get them undercoat sprayed. The Lords will be done last as they will be the the most intensive paint job of the models done so far.

So I'm afraid there are no photos for this entry, although since I have done some work I could just reuse the photos from the last post (plays tune), but that would be cheating.

Hopefully there will be more to post next time.

Tuesday 14 August 2012

If I build it, will they come?

I hope not, Necrons are nasty, slow progress tonight. I’ve decided to build all the sub assemblies for both models, once I’ve built as much as possible I shall paint all the parts and out the sub assemblies together in sequence. The idea behind this is to have both models built in relatively quick time. In my head I have the whole project mapped out and I know what the next kit to be built will be, Triarch Stalkers, Tomb Spyders, Lychguard/Praetorians, Deathmarks/Immortals, Flayers and the Finecast Lords and Cryptecs. I will also complete the second Monolith before working on the (secret) final model. I’ve also decided that, aside from the mention of the inspiration for the final build, there won’t be any clue as to what it is until I start it. Anyway here’s some shots of the Barge parts so far.

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Monday 13 August 2012

Destruction, thy name is Doomsday

 

I was thinking that The Doomsday Ark would be a better build than the previous model, I guess it comes as no surprise that it wasn’t. In my eagerness to complete the thing I forgot to install the Gauss Flayers when I was putting the ribs together so I had to part them and start again. The power conduit that runs from the main gun to the ribs didn’t go together too well and the prow was a bit of a devil to fit. However, on the whole I’m relatively happy with the finished model. I decided to add the coupling designs that are fitted to the underside of the Ghost Ark to the top of the ribs, at some point I plan to add some form of wire to represent more power conduit.

Anyway, here’s the finished model

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The Doomsday Ark feature the same Gauss Flayer broadside array as the Ghost Ark, the main difference for The Doomsday Ark is the main gun (Doomsday Cannon) that is underslung between the ribs. This weapon can fire when the vehicle has moved, but if the vehicle remains stationary the weapons power increases, going from Str 7 AP 4 small blast to a squad incinerating Str 9 AP 1 Large Blast. Now I know that to the non 40k playing reader those numbers mean squat, but on the tabletop it means a good chance to destroy an infantry unit or a vehicle, although given the fact that it’s a blast weapon I plan to hit enemy infantry very hard with it.

(Insert menacing laugh here!)

The next models to be done will be the Catacomb Command Barge / Annihilation Barge. This is another dual variant kit and I have two kits, the good side to this is that it should be easier to make this kit swapable which should give the option of having two Annihilation Barges on the table or one of each.

Because I have two kits I will have the option to make two Overlords, one aboard the Command Barge and one on foot, I may even have a go at magnetising one of the Overlords feet so I can have one as an either/or. Watch this space

Sunday 12 August 2012

A rather large gun

 

Today has been very hard going, I have spent most of it working on the Doomsday Cannon, but I have managed to get most of the detailing done on the ribs and the prow. Tomorrow I’ll tidy up some of the detailing and then I should have the Doomsday Ark finished. Anyway some pics of the Doomsday Cannon

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I’m rather pleased with the results, I don’t claim to be a good model painter, I enjoy the hobby and it helps me put aside my woes.

I’m not sure what I’ll be doing next, check back tomorrow to find out.

My eyes hurt

The control platform for the Doomsday Ark is now finished and I have decided to do the main gun again. That’s the beauty of having two of the same kit and building different variants. I sprayed the back end white and filled in the power core with Dark green ink, dry brushed the are with Moot Green and the covered the core with BluTac, (that stuff has so many uses). with the power core masked off I sprayed the gun black and dry brushed it with Mithril Silver and picked out the recessed detail with Moot Green.

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Well I thought the command platform was finish, but when I took the photos I noticed that the Necron Symbol at the base of the control console needs to be detailed, That will be the first job tomorrow so that his part is actually completed.

Up to this stage the components were constructed as sub assemblies, central housing, control console, side panels and engines. these sub assemblies were all sprayed black and the the recessed lines and edges were picked out with Moot Green. The engines were dry brushed with Screaming Bell and the controls on the console were base coated white ant picked out with various inks. The Pilot was sprayed black, base coated with Chainmail and the washed with Nuln Oil, the crown was given a light coat of Antique Gold and the eyes were picked out with Mechrite Red.

The power core inset areas were painted with Mithril Silver and washed with Dark Green Ink. So as I mentioned above, all that’s left to do is the symbol on the front and it’ll be finished.

The pictures below show the rear end of the main gun up to having the Blutac mask applied. Tomorrow it will be sprayed black and dry brushed before the blutac is removed and the last parts of construction is done.

Once the main gun is finished it will be on to the ribs and the prow, which will be detailed in the same way as the command section.

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Saturday 11 August 2012

Just a little bit

 

This evening has been hard work. I’ve spent six hours prepping and part painting the ten Gauss Flayers for the Doomsday Ark. The reason then small parts took so long is because I wanted to get the recessed pattern on the gun to have a crisp green detail. To do this I gave each one a light spray of white undercoat then painted dark green ink in the recesses. Once that was done I covered each recess with BluTac (other adhesive putty is available) then I gave each gun a spray with black undercoat and dry brushed them with Boltgun Metal. When the guns were dry I removed the BluTac. To be honest the effect was ok, but it could have gone better. However, I am happy with the result.

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All that’s left do do is paint the curved power cable and the guns, at least, will be finished.

The power cables will be painted white, the given a wash of dark green ink and the dry brushed with either Goblin green or snot green. Hopefully this last job won’t take too long and I can get on with the rest of the model.

Call back later to see how it all goes.

Thursday 9 August 2012

Actually it’s not the same model!

Yes I’ve changed the title

It’s sort of back to the beginning for the second model. Another Ark, this one will be a Doomsday Ark. As the name implies it means destruction and death to the opposing force, but more on that when the model is complete.

Since the basic construction of the Doomsday Ark’s the same as the Ghost Ark I won’t go in to repeating the details of the build except where the construction differs from the previous build. The main difference between the Doomsday and the Ghost Arks is that the ribs on the Doomsday Ark are inverted and instead of the Warriors there is a large main gun, the appropriately named Doomsday Cannon. The picture below is very early on in the build, there is still some cables to add and paint the detail. This is the main difference between the two Ark variants.

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Something I forgot to post at the start of Project Necron was the Frames holding the components, so they’re featured below.

frame1

frame1

frame2

No, you’re not seeing double and I haven’t made a mistake, the first two pictures are indeed the same because that’s what comes in the box. The kit comprises of 168 components. Of course not all of the parts are used in either build, if you build a Doomsday Ark you have ten battle damaged Necron Warriors spare. If you decide on the Doomsday Ark the the main gun isn’t used then it’s going to sit in the spares box until you can find a use for it. I have a plan for a slightly different way I’m going to paint the ten Gauss Flayers, I hope it works out. I’ll find out in a couple of days.

See you soon.

One down….

Oh yes indeed, The first Ark is now a complete model. It’s static as a Ghost Ark, this will allow me to add up to 3 Warriors to a unit of Necron Warriors per turn (without going above the starting size). Each flank is equipped with five Gauss Flayers. These can fire up to ten shots per turn and each flank can target different targets. The Ghost Ark can also be used as a dedicated transport for up to ten Necron Warriors, Necron Lords, Overlords and Named Characters.20120809_00161420120809_00162520120809_00164820120809_00252920120809_00255920120809_00264120120809_002650
So there it is, one completed Ghost Ark, about twenty five hours from opening the box to finished model.

Monday 6 August 2012

A little bit more done

The state of play at the moment, Ribs painted. drybrushed and detailed. Command platform is now finished, 10 battle damaged Necron Warriors are built and waiting to be base coated. Once they’re done I can start on completing the model and move on the the second Ark.

Just a couple of pics of the work in progress warriors

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Apologies for the poor quality. Smile

Before the warriors are fixed in place, I hope to get some better quality photos.

Sunday 5 August 2012

Working through

The Ark, cant decide if it’s Ghost or Doomsday, is progressing. The cockpit (ooer) is almost complete with just one or two areas to detail. I’m rather pleased with the control console and how one of the pilots fingers is pressing a button. I’ve positioned the pilot, his head is slightly angle as though he’s spotted a target and his left hand is reaching for the control panel to imply that he is about to adjust the Arks heading.

Anyway, some photos.

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Left side of console

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Right side of console

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Cockpit still a work in progress

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Forward view

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Almost finished.

Mounted on the front just under the console is a Necron symbol that needs to have detail picked out, once that is one that is done this part of the kit will be complete.

And so it begins.

Slightly behind schedule, I know I said the first of August but oh well, anyway after a day at the shop today I came home inspired and I started on the first model. The Ghost/Doomsday Ark. As a work in progress I've started with sub-assemblies and the model will be built in such a way that allows it to be fielded in either of the two configurations. I'll do this with the second kit of the same model, this will allow me to have a much wider choice of options when putting army lists together for games. Anyway without wanting to prattle on, here are some pictures of some of the assembled parts.