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Well, something happened this week. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, I sat down with the Sternguard and drilled some holes. I did (guess I should say, tried here) the pilot hole trick with my craft knife, then, got to work. The results speak for themselves...aka an obvious first attempt. Little bit of history here. At no point in my hobbying career have I ever used a drill...or done any real converting. The closest I got was swapping heads like the Thousand Sons Rhino I made way back in 2003 (no picture exists sadly) where I stuck on a Thousand Sons head on the chaos space marine body that goes on top of the tank. I remember I also had plans for a Tzeentchian Demon Prince using the superb 2002 Chaos Space Marine Demon Prince as a base with Lord of Change wings and a staff...no, I don't know how 2003 me was going to pull that off. 2025 Me, on the other hand, far less ideas and ambition. This is why I did the barrel drilling. One marine though, suffered for my folly. Live and learn I guess. With the exciting new bit out of the way, the Sternguard got several coats of paint on them. Sadly they weren't finished this week like I wanted but couldn't be helped. They only need armour highlights and robes. Definitely done by next week, I've got Infernus Marines stood waiting. That's enough for now I think, so I'll just say thanks for looking!

Well, its certainly been a hot minute this time hasn't it. I'm not really sure where 2024 went but I didn't get an awful lot done last year, and I'm determined to do things better this time! Last year I progressed a bit more with the Leviathan boxset, and by year's end had just eleven space marines left to do. Which sounds good until you consider that in my last post that number was eighteen and that the space marine contingent started off at twenty four. Yeah, I didn't hobby well. There's a lot of reasons I could give as to why this was the case but it doesn't change the fact that it happened. That's why I want to try and do better this year. To that end, I'm looking at setting myself some challenges. These will be aimed to either do something I've not done ever while also tackling my pile of potential. Let's dive in to it shall we: First challenge: Complete Leviathan Yes, a hold over from last year. This one should be obvious yet the most easiest as all that's left is to finish the Sternguard Veterans and the last five Infernus Marines. The Sternguard are currently at this stage- They've been base coated, washed, had the blue, white relayered. The Sargent has even had further work with his tabard and helmet getting cleaned up. The Infernus Marines are blue, not much to say there. With that in mind, I'm wanting to try something that was suggested to me in the Forums, that of barrel drilling! I've loaned a small drill for a different task (more on that one in a bit), just need to see if I've got the right size bits. Of all the challenges I've got planned, this is the one giving me pause. Had I done this before undercoating anything, I think it'd be easier to get my head around on doing. The second challenge is probably the hardest painting wise. Simply put, I'm painting a Primarch. Lion'el Johnson to be precise, and I'm not just doing it once, I'm doing it twice. See, I got him as part of my desire to collect loyalist primarchs (pretty easy since there is only two of them so far!) However my son also wanted and got him as part of his dark angels army. Benefit here is that in keeping with the rest of his army, he wants winged helmet, while I'm going bare head all the way. Once they're done, my aim is to paint Dark Angels till July comes around. Third Challenge...is a presumption on my part, that there's going to be another Call to Arms event. If there is, it's bug time once again. I've been slowly expanding my Tyranids with 9 more Leapers, a full brood of Hormagaunts and a Hive Tyrant. The Hive Tyrant is the reason I got the drill. Someone at my FLGS suggested that by magnetising all the weapon options and wings, and using the Winged Tyrant legs and tail, that I could have my cake and eat it. I would have a modular Hive Tyrant that could serve as a normal one, a winged one and the Swarmlord if I also do the head (if I can). My original option was just to buy a torso piece from somewhere and have two Hive Tyrants...May still do that, comments are welcome! I'm still tempted to grab a few more bugs to add to the pile maybe a Tyrannofex or a Biovore, maybe one of the new Lictors. Got six months to figure out what I want! After September...depends on how things turn out GW release schedule wise. If a certain faction of Space Marine is released, my nids will finally have their true base rivals (i like to base my armies in opposing pairs, Ultramarines vs Necron, Tyranids vs...well, let's see). Though GW may not get much more money out of me due to another company entering the tabletop market with a franchise I love, I'm sure there's plenty of painting in my future. My plan is to update the blog whenever I hit a milestone (like finishing these bloody Sternguard for instance!) Till next time! (Will hopefully not be another year!)

I just found this animated "short" (More or 50 minutes long) created by Gabriel Christtiane, call The Awakening. A group of Dark Angels try to stop a massive Necron awakening in an imperial world,with a surgical strike. Enjoy!

If someone is looking for ideas for their own projects or just want to enjoy some well made illustrations, this link is plenty of that and much more. https://earltheartist.tumblr.com/ Mostly are illustrations of Astartes but not only. Even some not related with Warhammer at all but still interesting. Enjoy!

Tamás Patkós (also known as captdiablo) is a freelance artist located on Satu Mare, Republic of Romania. He makes illustrations of female characters, mostly for W40K, but also D&D xnd and other fantasy and science fiction sagas. One of his most known art pieces is a series of portraits of Lelith Hesperax, the arch famous Drukhari Succubus of the Wych Cult known as the Cult of Strife, and the undisputed champion of the gladiatorial arenas of Commorragh. But he has many more pieces. Some can be found here https://wh40kartwork.tumblr.com/tagged/tamas patkos Or in his personal Artstarion page: https://www.artstation.com/captdiablo And also have a Patreon: https://patreon.com/captdiablo

Well, it's been a while since I blogged last...too long in fact. I was only supposed to have a short break while I finished my Bladeguard and Assault Intercessors (and Bladeguard Ancient, and Captain...). They didn't end up being done till late November time as other things piled up. Here's how they turned out: This led to me finally starting the Marine half of the Leviathan box (I think I said before I wanted it done before New Year...That didn't happen). I started with my favourite Marine sculpts, the Terminators. While I may of saved the best till last with the tyranids, I wasn't following that trend with these. So seven models hit the table (Captain, Librarian, Terminator Squad): and at some point I added the old Terminator Marneus Calgar finecast (I didn't know this when I bought it) model to this. They got a coat of blue, and silver aaannnddd that was it for a month or so. Flash forward to January (same time I revived my thread in the wip area) when I picked up the paintbrush again. I tried something new for these which I had only done in trial cases before, and that was building up to white (and going further for the chest aquillas, up to gold). I worked through dark grey to light grey to white. With the helmets, I worked in as layers, leaving grey showing as shadows. It was a time consuming process but I liked the results. The capes on the captain and Calgar I'm particularly proud of, more so than my primaris calgar. I was grateful that the captain's base gave me an opportunity to do another tyranid...even if it was a dead one. I also attempted my first free handing here, and clearly I need more practice. The rest of the models turned out quite well, I also held back a little on the blue highlights, not sure if it was effective or not. It was about this time I realised that Calgar's little shield wing was glued on by the previous owner the wrong way. I didn't push myself on the Librarian as I should of but the GW standard paint scheme didn't appeal to me. The Terminator Squad though, I'm quite happy with these guys, in fact I'm itching to get the multipart set now, just to have their various weapon options. So, there was 25 models for the space marines in Leviathan, and I've done 7 models here. By my quick and dirty calculations, I've almost done a third. This brings us to the next batch for this mini project: Orto Cassius aside, it's another 7 models (one being the big boi of the Ballistus Dreadnought). Completing these will take me over the half way point. Let's see if I can get them done in under three months this time! People who follow my other thread will have an idea of where I am with these guys... Till next time, Keep hobbying! ZeroWolf

Well, it's over. Took a week longer but.. My Call to Arms Vow is complete! A few closer looks... Yup, still haven't fixed that Barbagaunts Of course, the Parasite of Motrex was just sitting there, begging to be let in on the fun. So here it is, my full Tyranid swarm (was worth over 900pts but now has dropped below this.. Thanks GW! ) For even better pictures look at the included galleries. These past few weeks have been eye opening for me and for what I can accomplish. It also was the realisation of a goal I had over 20 years ago but never did back then: a painted Tyranid army. What was once a pile of grey plastic, is now a hungry swarm, wanting to consume as much biomass as possible! To say I've had a blast would be an under statement. Till next time, Keep on hobbying!

I wanted to show you a completed vow this week. I wanted to show you my swarm as it stood at the moment but alas, I can't. Why not? I ran out of Valhallan Blizzard! So, guess those pictures will be up next week. However, I'm pleased to say that all the bases are now Ice Blue! Termagaunts and Rippers Neurogaunts At least I got something done. Non-nid related though, I've gone back to my Bladeguard and got them all shaded, and I've started re-layering the blue. It's funny going back to the Ultramarines, as I could the Tyranids a vastly different experience with how quick I was able to get them painted. Till next time, Keep on hobbying!

Well I did it. Last Saturday, I posted this picture of the Screamer Killer: Then, a few days later... And now... The Screamer-Killer was the model I was most looking forward to painting on the Tyranids side of Leviathan. I was a little nervous, as while the others had painted up well (see the attached gallery), this guy was bigger. I've also had some trouble recently with my drybrushing, in that I wasn't getting consistency with the amount of paint on my brush. The large carapace on the back was a prime target for mucking up. Luckily it didn't turn out too badly. From several comments, it seems that my decision to do the white teeth and tongue (white scar and Screamer Pink respectively, followed by nuln oil) has added to the figures, which was a relief. While the Ice Storm was out, I sorted the base rim out on a few other units, resulting in these boys being completed (and added to the gallery): All thats left with the white rims is 9 Termagaunts and 8 Neurogaunts. I expect these to be changed within the week. What does this mean for the blog? Well, next week will be another Call to Arms piece as the Vow won't be complete till they're all based! Of course, I'm thinking ahead about a 2nd Vow but it would all depend on other factors... Otherwise, it's time for the Ultramarines to take centre stage as my Bladeguard have been sitting patiently, waiting to be finished...alongside a lot of other minis! Call to Arms Statistics 47/47 Given what I said above, you weren't expecting anything less were you? Of course, there is 5 figures left to base. Till next time, Keep on hobbying!

These weeks are flying by it seems... No rest for the wicked! This week was a marked change of pace, not least because I didn't get many painting sessions in. Like the Winged Prime last week, this past few days belonged to a single model... The Psychophage! At this point, all it had was Ork Flesh, Dark Angels Green and Leviathan Purple on it (all contrast paints, all a godsend for a scheme like this). The patchiness aside, things look OK already! What it needed, was details! A dead space marine's arm and a mouth filled with more teeth than the osmond family (virtual cookie to anyone who got that refrence). With details done, it was off to the last step. You know what it is...Drybrushing time! An alternative angle: Aside from the usual (moot green/ White Scar + Moot Green etc etc) I also attempted to get a nice fade to black going with the smoke, drybrushing with Dawnstone, then manufactorum grey before a last going over with Abaddon black. I may have over did it with the black. As I had Ice Storm out for the base, I took the opportunity to redo some of the other base rims, getting them to match the new style. You can see some of these in the gallery linked to this post. Some that I did, you'll get to see next week when everything will (hopefully) be based. With the Psychophage done, let's have a look at the stats: 46/47 One model left to do...Wonder who that could be? See you next week to see how he turns out! Till then, Keep on hobbying!

Week 6 of Call to Arms has come and gone, and if my maths is correct, this is the half way point! This week I technically didn't get that much painting done, but I finished stuff, like these Von Ryan's Leapers: I tried to have a transition going on with the top most scything talons, and it sort of worked, well, worked enough that I set about trying it again on this fella: Can't see it at this angle but I darkened (with extra layers of Leviathan purple) the points of its claws, the edge of it'd knife horn, and the tops of its spine ridges. A session, some syabrite green (I keep spelling that wrong), and a helping of Nuln Oil later, I had this: Around about this time, I did a small test to find the new base rim colour I was going to use following several helpful comments. The choice was between Administratum Grey and Arky Painter's Ice Storn, the one I went with was... Ice Storm. Its really effective at catching your eye and goes well with the rest of the colours. Then it came to Friday, and I got my basing groove on. Barbagaunts Termagaunts I've started the long process of changing base rims over to the new colour, a little work here and there. Call to Arms stats: 45*/47 miniatures painted *3 aren't based yet, and that is the Von Ryan's Leapers. I suspect they'll be finished with the Screamer-Killer and psychophage. So close to finishing now, so close in fact that I've already been thinking about what to paint afterwards! That will be a topic for another time. Till next time, Keep on hobbying!

A quick update this week! Last week was spent working on batches of Termagaunts and a couple of Barbagaunts, and this week....I spent working on the last batches of Termagaunts and Barbagaunts! The 3rd batch begins: By now, everything is running like clockwork on these, so within a day, I had them at this point: and then the 4th batch from here: to here: By the end, It took me two sessions (roughly 1 hour a session) to get one batch done (5 Termagaunts and 1 Barbagaunt). If you're wondering why there is no group shots of them all together, that would be because I didn't get any basing done this week so hopefully next week I can get the full 20 Termagaunts up here in their glory. Same for the Barbagaunts. What else did I do this week? Well, last week I actually got a game in! It was only a 750 pts a side game against my sons blood angels and most of my units performed really well (the Von Ryan's Leapers were men- Err things! Of the match). My Winged prime however, didn't do so hot. In fact, he landed like a wet squid and failed to do anything. As I look to the future, it's not looking like he'll have a place in the army list unless something changes (like shrikes). Other than that, I started these 3 bad things: an hour and a half to do 3 lots of purple armour! Lets hope it was worth it! My Call to Arms total then is as follows: 41*/47 The end is in sight! * okay, 12 of them aren't based but you know, the main painting work is done. Till next week, Keep hobbying!

Week 4 has come and gone, so what did I do? Paint gaunts. It took one session to complete the 1st batch (of 5 Termagaunts and 1 Barbagaunt) from where I left them last week: So with reckless abandon, I started the next batch straight away There was nothing new that happened with the 2nd batch other than deciding to do two Barbagaunts now instead of later. I spent a lot of time going around and fixing mistakes where I found them, trying to eradicate white gaps in the green flesh. Eventually though (after 3 tedious sessions), I got them complete as well. I want to point out here about the white base, specifically the rims of the base. Given that I was going with a snowy theme, I thought it made sense to go white. Little did I realise how much of a headache it was going to be. I've been using white scar as Mt go to white for a little while, finding it superior to Crovax White as that one was a chalky mess. The colour though is very transparent, and that's before it's thinned down. Given that, I wanted to look at an easier way to do it. I tried Army Painter Lawful White (and ran into the exact same problem). Then I tried store brand paint (in this case Wilkinsons) and found it even worse. Until I can get a different brand White again, I'm stuck using 4-6 layers of White Scar. Friday came, and with it... Basing. That's 10 Termagaunts and 3 Barbgaunts based which brings the Call to Arms total to: 29/47 I'm officially half way through! Next weeks update will probably be a short one as I've still got plenty of gaunts to get through! Till then, Keep on hobbying!

Another week gone, another week bites the dust! You get the idea... In some sense, I didn't get too much done, but in another, I got a bit done! From my last blog post, I started the week by continuing with the Neurogaunts and Ripper Swarms: At this point, all their base colours were done, which meant time for fun with drybrushing! Here, I pressed ahead with the Ripper swarm and got them finished. The Neurogaunts also had their flesh drybrushed like the Neurotyrant before them, though I added an extra stage here where I mixed more White Scar in. Didn't quite go the way I planned in my head but that's life! Seeing that the finish line was close for these gaunts, I pressed forward! Heres the completed Neurogaunts, standing proud, despite their likely hood of being used on the tabletop being quite low at the moment. Having them done meant I could turn my attention to the Termagaunts. I decided on a different approach with these guys, in order to preserve what little sanity I had left, I moved to paint them in small batches of 5...and I threw in a Barbagaunt for good measure! Wasn't long before they were at the drybrush stage as well! I added a new shade of green to the mix here to help differentiate the normal flesh from the guns. I used Dark Angels Contrast for this task, and it appears to do the trick. Of course, the biggest news this week? I got things based! Neurotyrant (and Neuroloids) Ripper Swarms Neurogaunts I can officially say that I've now fully completed 16/47 miniatures! With any luck, I might be able to push that to 28 by next Saturday...wish me luck! I'm hopefully taking better pictures of the completed units this week, and I'll add them to the Tyranid gallery. Till then, Keep hobbying!