Race's ETL Oath Blog

[Race Bannon]

I want to do this too!

 

My vow was made on opening day. I am keeping this separate from my other thread devoted to the army as a whole.

 

One kicker already: I got a chance to get the Dark Fury JP and would rather use it for Shrike. As I already promised the RT-era pack then I may switch out after the event.

 

I will say that my experience with the white has been more learning than not.

 

Thank you for reading. Pics soon!

[Jacques Corbin]

Where did you get just one? I want one for a Jump Chaplain to represent Raven's Fury.

[Race Bannon]

eBay The thing seems massive and may not actually fit the model, but I don't need the whole squad, so I jumped on it (pun intended). Better to have one and not need it kinda thing.

Now Raven's Fury has been giving me a modeling head-ache as well. I think the DF pack would actually be better for it. But Shrike is the Chapter Master, so his pack needs to have some oomph. Once I get it in my hands I'll make some decisions. At the same time, I'm thinking RF is still an old pack, maybe not Heresy old though. So maybe a single-thruster version like the Sanguinary Guard (sans angel wings), and decorate it with bitz-o-rama?

[SoulMech]

Excellent idea Race.

I'm actually running DF's with packs as Vanguard Vets (with modified weapon loadouts).

 

For my Shrike as chapter master with Ravens Fury, I too want it to stand out amongst the rest of Jumpers in army, so will be running Astoraths Winged pack for him.

[Race Bannon]

Been chewing into my vow. Not as far I hoped because i didn't think my recipe for white would be so ... challenging. Test models were easy compared to the real thing.

Anyways, I decided Shrike would be first. taking pics is not my thing and I swear the model looks better IRL. This is a redo from my Raptors. I really dig the model and not a fan of the original Shrike. Also, I wanted to link my history to the present - the Eldar ruin is perfect because I have played so many games against Eldar with a couple of friends since 2nd edition. They are the bane of my 40K days and yet they were the cause of so many good memories. (Ed, this one is for you!) This is the metal version so I had to saw off the right arm. The LCs are before the current VV set, so I could have pulled from them, yet I wanted to keep the "originals". I think they were from the Space Wolves sprue so there is some chopping up on them I can't recall. I want to thank a fellow Frater for helping me with the RG decals - this one is from FW. You know who you are so thank you very much!

http://i.imgur.com/qtUzrPF.jpg

Back. Allow me to explain the decal. A dear friend of mine helped me in some really hard times last decade and he was a die-hard Blood Angels player. He had the worst luck with dice I ever saw. I mean he never won a game I saw or heard about, yet he kept going. As I appreciate linking the past with the present, I wanted to honor his friendship with this decal. The ETL gave me a chance to work on the model and the plain surface was perfect. Besides, opponents will only see the front to care anyway

http://i.imgur.com/aLmYPCR.jpg

The other three squads. From left to right: shotguns, snipers, assault marines. I'm working on all of them in various stages but each squad is on a different level from the the others. My goal is to finish each squad in a week with my current time devotion. I'm already planning the next vow

http://i.imgur.com/vp1lqNz.jpg

Thank you for looking

[Burias-Drak'shal]

Look fwd to seeing your future progress

[Race Bannon]

The Dark Fury pack came in today As I committed the RT-era JP to "Shrike", then I am considering putting up another Captain (GD '08) in my second vow with this pack and make him my Korvydae. Speaking of which, the '08 Captian's right pauldron is too big to let a 40K JP rest easily. So it's going to be the DF pack or a single-thruster pack.

Maybe I'll switch them after the ETL

EDIT: Vow 1 is ~75% complete. Please forgive the pic quality. I swear the models look better IRL. Last step is the matt varnish for

The Man:

http://i.imgur.com/vBFTvDQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0fTrLeN.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/YuMvpoZ.jpg

Scout Squad 3 - Shotguns. I decided the Sergeant had solid black eyes because he is close to "graduating" out of the 10th Company ... and it was helluva lot easier to paint.

http://i.imgur.com/pRPrx6I.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/cPdUtwf.jpg

Scout Squad 7 - Snipers. Sergeant as above. I also decided not to camo up the camo-cloaks. 1) I'm not interested in trying, 2) the cloaks suggest they adapt to the environment. So, given the base is muddy, then an earthy color was used. VMC Khaki Grey with Agrax Earthsahde wash. That's it.

http://i.imgur.com/pgcICZ8.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2N3QUXU.jpg

The vow - all that's left is the Assault Squad

http://i.imgur.com/Lwq891t.jpg

^_^

[Race Bannon]

So, I'm painting the black on the last unit, the Assault Squad.  It's one thing to see pictures of all that black, but it's another to actually paint it yourself.

 

That's A LOT of black.  I mean ... wow.

[Race Bannon]

Second vow in.

 

As the notes say, I have a Land Speeder to build I am not looking forward to working on.  Frankly, I'd rather build a Drop Pod ... I just don't have one :P

 

Admittedly, I wanted to vow "Korvydae" with a counts-as from the GD '08 Captain.  In the end I *know* I will not use that character.  This is contrasting to the Shrike in the first vow as I *know* I will be using Shrike ^_^

 

I learned a lot about the white recipe I envisioned and practiced with.  But once I got to it on a serious level, it was stressful at first, yet I feel I am better for it - which is what the ETL is supposed to do: stretch hobby knowledge and capabilities.

 

This will be the last of my scout collection for a long time.  The Ven Dread will have magnetized arms for future modules.  Currently, I only own the AC arms as the body is FW, so I could be selective with it's armament and settled on what I knew I would use.

 

I'm batting around plans for a third vow if tie allows.  Some sleep has been lost for the first vow and I'm thinking to relax my schedule because ... sleep.

 

Thank you for looking!  I'll post more WIP for this vow., and that's my solemn vow :lol:

[Machine God]

No sleep 'til Brooklyn!

[Race Bannon]

An update to the second vow:

 

The Thunder Hammer Captain.  I wanted to preserve as much of the model as I could which is why I kept the head.  The Jump Pack is ... well ... just a Jump Pack.  I thought to make it Raven's Fury, but this guy will not see as much table-top action as say, Shrike.  Besides, The difference between RF and a JP is rules, so I kept the piece simple.  Besides, my original intent was for a a single-thruster pack and that's still my goal.  But as the ETL vow period is ending soon, I wanted to 'git r dun'.  Thank you again to a Frater for the decal (you know who you are).  All that's left is a varnish coat and he's done.

http://i.imgur.com/M6pNdOA.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/mZqKFYW.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RvpRc2B.jpg

 

Scout Squad 2 - Boltguns.  These guys are actually finished.  I a moment of not-so-good decision-making I decided to paint a 6th boltgun Scout in from plastic.  That time could/should have been spent on the other projects.  Oh well.  He won't be counted in the ETL, but my squad is a little bigger for it :tu:

http://i.imgur.com/l4GtROR.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/HMVSoDO.jpg

 

Group - missing is the Land Speeder because of my dread toward the model.  I figured it was easier to work on the FW Ven Dread.   I THINK I WAS WRONG.  1) I hate resin. 2) The casting on this model is worse than I thought once I started putting paint to surface.  3) I am not a fan of resin.  My hat is tipped to all the 30K players out there who use a lot of resin kits. ^_^

http://i.imgur.com/KmYZy0S.jpg

 

You will also see a pile of black stuff in the top left corner - that's a FW Damocles turret purchased way before the Ven Dread.  I've stripped those pieces three times now and black is it's final color.  Maybe not Raven Guard-y, but a part of a Space Marine arsenal to be sure (and certainly in my collection).  I think I've ever used a Damocles twice before, and one time I had to convince the opponent it was going to be cool).

[Shrieker]

what is your recipe for pale flesh - thi is just the tone i want to go for for my 30k raptors

[Jacques Corbin]

Yeah, Race, I have 4 Land Speeder Storms. I gope I never have to build another, but I love how they perform on the tabletop. Ork players, Necron players, and Guard players HATE playing me.

 

The trick is to paint it in stages. A lot of dry-fitting before gluing can be a pain. I painted the shotguns and pistols in the back passenger compartment, and you can barely see them with the crew in there.

 

Race, what did you do for those grey fatigues on your scouts? I used Mechanicum Standard Grey, and people accuse me of leaving parts unpainted. For my Shadowstrike Kill Team LSS and Scouts, I used Ulthuan Grey, as it looks much more white, which is traditionally the color of 1st Company, and it keeps them from being mixed up with my Pinion LSS and Scouts.

[Race Bannon]

Thank you for looking ^_^

Shreiker - If you mean for the Captain: Black base coat, VGC Light Grey, old GW Flesh Wash in the creases/mouth/hairline, VGC Dead White (leaving creases with the wash, then drybrushed with white again to soften the line between white and wash. For the Scouts: black base, VGC Bonewhite, old GW Flesh Wash as above, finish with VGC Bonewhite. No highlighting or layering. The pictures I post are with an old digital camera and pitiful lighting.

Jacques Corbin - So, I posted here, the ETL thread and have whined about building Land Speeders ... then I jumped on it and started working. It seemed like a hour for me to dry-fit and glue enough to get the hull completed. It really wasn't that bad Although I think I will sit down with my last three LS and build them all at once. Ever since they current form was released (remember when the hull was basically two pieces?), I have never liked the model itself. I mean, the form is great, it's just the model parts to make it. The Storm I built once. Once. My 5yo son got a hold of it and things happened, so if I want one then I'll need to get a new one . But enough of my

As for the fatigues, I also use Mechanicum Standard Grey, then wash with Nuln Oli. That's it. The grey I use for tubes/weapons/gear is VGS Neutral Grey which is lighter. Washed with Nuln Oil and both MSG and NG tend to blend together. Meh. I know the difference.

:tu:

[Race Bannon]

Got my 3rd vow and it'll be a doozy for me.  With two months I'm sure to get it done, yet I have a Tactical Squad I've been hooked to get going.  That unit will complete my Firespear Formation (should I ever use it).  It'll be nice to get them in and done for this competition.  If anything to help the RG score some numbers in the ETL within the faction ^_^

 

I'm going to see if I can get a weekly update for this vow going.

[Race Bannon]

Ok, so a week and some days .. close to two weeks :blush:

 

As you will see below: 1 Land Speeder, 1 Sentry Gun completed.  Two more guns and the TDA Captain in various stages.  The Vanguard and two LS are still in bags off-pic.  Needless to say, it's been slow for me  since the second vow.

 

If one were to compare this pic to the vow, you will see the Captain model changed.  I got permission from Captain Semper for this: same points spent, same gear, just a model change.  This is the Captain that came with the Start Collecting! box and replaces the metal version sold way back in ... 3ed?  I'm not stripping that guy, so when I saw the plastic dude, I had to get one (and the set really is a bargain to start.  Selling the plastic Ven Dread made the cost to me even better!).  BUT .. he has been a pain to paint so far ... I really bounced around between the Culln resin dude and the plastic TDA dude.  Settling on the plastic one, I had to hunker down to git r dun.

 

Buuut - working on a character slows a lot of everything else.  So, today I bust a move to work on the Sentry guns.  I think they are the easiest in the vow to complete and I'll have them finished on Wednesday this week.  After that, the LS squadron, then the Vanguard with the Captain.  At my current rate I predict a mid-July completion for the vow.  There I said it.  This means I'll need to start considering the 4th vow by the end of the week.

 

http://i.imgur.com/MfOX9Sv.jpg

 

Thank you for reading!

[Lord Doyok]

Nice.. Keep it up bro.

I painted 2 Drop Pods and 1 Razorback for a tourney couple weeks back. Should have entered them in ETL.

I'm currently in the midst of painting my Stormcast Eternal. Otherwise would have join you in this one.

[Race Bannon]

So, my "blog" has been silent, for a few reasons.  Life, kids, job (somewhat in that order).  Part of it is also the models in my current vow.  Yes, I am putting some blame on the models I am working on.  Really it's on my choice for these guys: the Red Shoulders Vanguard Veteran upgrade kit.

 

I've had this kit for years waiting to get used, so it made sense to me to get to work on it.

 

Let me say that FW allowing the humble Jump Pack to be split into three parts where two of them are the large hoses ... was dumb.  It looked easy (and maybe it is for some), and maybe I'm not a good modeler, but wow.  The time I have spent on this unit has blown my time predictions out the water.  

 

At the same time, part of my issue is me not letting the difficulty level force acedia here.  The squad will be worth the effort and it still getting through the mounds of models waiting to get paint-n-played.  Based on today's work I might get done with the vow on Wednesday :tu:

[deathspectersgt7]

Great kit is it not . This was one of the down hill affair I had with FW . I can understand it being done in plastic but come on resin. I cussed more putting 20 of those things together  than I did teaching freshmeat out bootcamp the fine art of the bayonet.

[Race Bannon]

I worked for another 2.5 hours on the dudes after my post above: they are built.  Geebus that was rougher than I thought and I had more glue on my fingers than my pride wants to admit.  DSS7 ... resin can almost officially eat a :cuss after this squad.  Blissfully, I only have a few more resin things in my collection to finish.

 

My projection to finish the vow on Wednesday will be accurate (baring some child-induced disaster or my untimely death).  This means I need to start planning vow 4.

 

Having said that, I could go one of to routes - big points to work one vow, or low points over two vows to try to go for the vow limit.  Either way it'll be close for the ETL.  I'm already planning a "post mortem" for the ETL experience based on what's happened this round.

 

Thank you again for reading ^_^

[ShinyRhino]

Those multipart jump pack are a bear. I actually lost one of the hoses for Korvydaes pack while washing it to remove mold release. Washed it right down the damn sink.

[Race Bannon]

I would "like" your response, but that may suggest I enjoy your misfortune

Sometimes I wonder if I should save my posting for either the next day or just before bed because I found tucked into a storage box my Land Raider Mk1 kit All the pieces are there and seem to be straight. Not to sound whiney but that's A LOT of resin. At least it'll be a VERY cool model and very appropriate for the Raven Guard :tu: I don't think I'll put it up for this ETL - or it'll be the only thing on the list if I do :lol:

[WAR]

Save it for post ETL,  Race

[Race Bannon]

Finished my vow here and got my fourth vow in as well.

As the notes declare, I'll have some wok to do on the Tempest. My current stripper is doing good work on resin models painted for the Raptors (anything older and it sucks), so that'll take a day or two. Needless to say I can work on the dudes while that's happening.

I ahve to admit, the time it took to finish Vow 2 has stalled my confidence in getting more done in the time left. Sure, this vow is conservative, but it's my first ETL and I want to win it. Actually, if I can get this group done in two weeks, then I'll go for it and bust out a final vow for a dude I've been slowly working to start and has been several years coming.

Back to this group: The Chaplain is a favorite of mine and current thinking in this forum is a Chaplain with Raven's Fury. The current JP Chaplain model is no longer in metal (unless through eBay) and I'm not working with Finecast. So, sure the model doesn't have the JP straps and I'm letting that go for now. SInce Raven's Fury costs the same as a JP upgrade, then I don't have to make the pack super fancy. Besides, the description says it looks the same as the current style anyway. Win-win.

On the Techmarine, I actually have two of these models and thought to do both, but then decided for one because ... when would I ever use two Techmarines?! Although I do own the Servo Harness version with Servitors, that would be a bit of work in the time left (see paragraph 1 above).

Back to the Tempest: you will see the Tactical Squad marking on the top strut (which I literally just caught was glued on backward ). I plan to keep this pattern because there is no way to see which company the pilot is from without it being on the outside. If you may have noticed, the Land Speeders I have built come from the 7th company and the Tempest will be the same. Likely from a different squad though because Squad 3 currently has 8 dudes over 4 Speedrs. This gives me the flexibility to build a 5th Speeder for that squad (if I want to torture myself again). Hmm. Maybe 7th squad - you know, lucky 7 and all. It's a shame the only way I could use this Speeder is via CAD, but ... meh.

Maybe if I get a better paying job I can comfortably get his squad mates

Thank you for looking ^_^

[The Yak]

No!!! I loved your Raptors Landspeeder Tempest