ETL hints/tips, advice, and color schemes

SW1 · April 8, 2018

Brothers the call of the pack is strong.

Honda · April 8, 2018

So as person who's participated in a few of these, I would say, build now, build as if your life depends on it. If you're looking for the most bang for you buck consider:

1. Vehicles

2. Characters

3. High point units (e.g. 10 Terminators vs. 10 Bloodclaws)

Having said that, paint what you'd enjoy painting. If your vow becomes a chore, you'll find it much more difficult to complete. If you are excited about finishing because you'll use it in a game, that's additional motivation that helps get you across the finish line.

In the past, figures have to be WYSIWG or you have to have a representation of the weapons and equipment. You can't just say, "They all have axes!"

Other tips:

1. Have fun, this is all about the brotherhood that develops through a challenge.

2. Every point added is worth it. So if all you have time to do is one rhino, do the one rhino.

3. Paint your models to the level you want. Don't do a crappy job just to get points, you'll regret it after ETL is over. Enjoy what you produced.

4. It is much better to several smaller vows than one big vow. Do not discount the value to you and your teammates for completing a vow, it helps not only you, but everyone on your team or who is rooting for you.

5. Remember the lessons from the "Tortoise and the Hare". Slow and steady almost always does better than sprinting out of the gate.

Wolves are known for their animal cunning and that every wolf is a hero.

Remember that when it gets tough going, and as always:

https://youtu.be/-ynFqrrZukk

mactire · April 9, 2018

Realistic vows are key. While it may seem to you that you are helping the Forum with big 1500/2000 pt vows, if you fail to complete then your actually going to cost the Wolves pts. Also paint to your very best ability, you are the one who has to play with the models when your finished, so don't make it all about the race for points. Above all, as others have said, keep in touch with with your Brothers here for help, motivation and bit of fun.

April 15, 2018

So hoping we get our codex before ETL. Really split on what color to go. One hand I love the HH grey, the other is that Russ will return wearing baby blue and my army will just be awkward. I have to figure out something before ETL starts

SW1 · April 15, 2018

Paint everything in your own paint scheme and be damned what the exact colour anyone else says they should be. ;)

The plan for me is I won't be aiming for the forum champion title this ETL. So no pressure on completing huge points values. Just going to do a squad or two as there's things I need to sort out outside of the hobby at the same time.

Next years ETL I'll have hopefully a clear few months and will be going all guns blasing. ;)

Leif Bearclaw · April 15, 2018

Don't worry about it. Just paint the scheme you like best.

I'd be flabbergasted if GW change the SW colour scheme with a new dex, so any returning Russ will almost inevitably be 'officially' painted the same blue-grey as the current studio SWs.

April 15, 2018

Don't worry about it. Just paint the scheme you like best.

I'd be flabbergasted if GW change the SW colour scheme with a new dex, so any returning Russ will almost inevitably be 'officially' painted the same blue-grey as the current studio SWs.

People scoffed when I said GW should make SM 2 wounds and cost more points. Yet here we are with Primaris. I also remember people telling me that it was dumb that I suggest Cypher wear black (legion colors) instead of green, yet his new model is black.

Point is that "new GW" and 8th edition aren't so afraid to change things up.

Leif Bearclaw · April 15, 2018

So you're to blame for Cawl's abominations? :wink:

Yes, GW have changed things (usually for the worse in my view), but always for obvious reasons. Why would they change the SW colours when the current ones all use Space Wolf-themed names? It just doesn't make sense. If they wanted to make the SW 'proper' Grey, they would've done so when they overhauled the paint ranges imo.

Captain Semper · April 15, 2018

Personally, I was always leaning towards the grey for SWs - I don’t get the blueish shade. But it’s subjective...

Also did someone mention Cypher? What Cypher?

Burias-Drak'shal · April 15, 2018

I'm having trouble deciding on what to paint for ETL.

Mainly due to not having a codex for our army and new models yet.

I'm very torn between SW and UM,BA,DA

SW1 · April 15, 2018

From experience ... If you can paint say 2,000 points in the given time then break it up in to 500 point chunks. That means if RL throws you a curve ball and you don't manage it you can stop at any of the 500 point chunks. This still gives you an extra vow incase you finish early.

Captain Semper · April 15, 2018

I'm having trouble deciding on what to paint for ETL.

Mainly due to not having a codex for our army and new models yet.

I'm very torn between SW and UM,BA,DA

Well, neither the BAs nor the DAs got any new minis with their 8th Edition Codex - not to mention GKs or the Xenos. So new Codex does not translate to new minis necessarily. And the Index Imperium 1 get-you-by list covers everything that’s altready out there, so modelling-wise there is nothing stopping you to play with the Wolves in my view...

Burias-Drak'shal · April 15, 2018

I'm having trouble deciding on what to paint for ETL.

Mainly due to not having a codex for our army and new models yet.

I'm very torn between SW and UM,BA,DA

Well, neither the BAs nor the DAs got any new minis with their 8th Edition Codex - not to mention GKs or the Xenos. So new Codex does not translate to new minis necessarily. And the Index Imperium 1 get-you-by list covers everything that’s altready out there, so modelling-wise there is nothing stopping you to play with the Wolves in my view...

More along the lines of primaris and the fact they got themed ones. Maybe they will do some that fit with SW more so

Honda · April 15, 2018

Also did someone mention Cypher? What Cypher?

He was on the Ophidium Gulf.

You probably don't remember that either. That's Ok, we do.

Captain Semper · April 15, 2018

Ophid... what? Now you’re imaging things... you Black Templars you...

SW1 · April 22, 2018

So the Captain has just dropped a bomb shell.

What's everyone's thoughts on the direction the ETL is heading this year?

SW1 · April 22, 2018

For those not following the ETL thread here's the post I'm referring to ...

http://fortressofunforgiven.homestead.com/ETL_6_Poster_01_Teaser.jpg

MAY 1st - AUGUST 1st

-------------------------------------------------
A few things about the new rules:

1. Points limit raised to 4,000 pts (to accommodate Warlord Titans)

2. Five Factions:

Adeptus Astartes

Imperial Forces (IFOR)

Realm of Chaos

Xenos

Age of Darkness (AoD)

3. There are three levels of collective performance:
Primus Inter Pares: the Forum with the highest score WITHIN its Faction

Dominus Exercitus: the Forum with the highest score AMONG ALL Factions (similar but not 100% like the Primus Inter Pares of old)

ETL VI Magister: the Faction with the highest score among all Factions

4. The Astartes Faction will consist of SMs, BAs, DAs and SWs
5. The IFOR Faction will include the GKs and the Deathwatch

6. IFOR Forums will have access (but not unlimited) to units form other IFOR Forums

7. Chaos is three Forums - not interchangeable

8. Aeldari is a single Forum (just to clarify)

9. AoD is split in two teams the Loyalists and the Traitors. Both have access to all HH units except those explicitly labeled "Traitor" for the Loyalists and those labeled "Loyalist" for the Traitors

Remember, these are just some highlights - there is a ton of details still but feel free to ask any questions.

So we will be part of the Faction "Adeptus Astartes" which is made up of SM's, BA's, DA's and SW's. The challenges are three fold.

1 - Top Forum of our given Faction

2 - Top Forum of all Factions

3 - Top Faction

Will be interesting how the new comers Xenos mobilise. There's also a new bigger cap on vows from 3,000 points to 4,000 points per vow. So the maximum vow is now a stinking 20,000 points!!!

Edit:

I'm also loving the new twist that even if a forum takes the first two challenges it doesn't mean their overall Faction will come out on top. It's going to have to be a team game with any none completions really impacting the overall score! :)

ChicagoMP · April 22, 2018

I'm sitting on quite a bit of primed, or base coated Wolves right now. This may be the spark I need to get motivated!

Dantay VI · April 23, 2018

Finally... About time we heard something.

10 days to prep... Here comes the pain

April 23, 2018

only 10 days? well crap I haven't even got any models delivered yet. I thought the announcement would be in may for end of may time frame... well damn.

Leif Bearclaw · April 23, 2018

Don't worry too much. If it's anything like previous ETLs the first month will be open for people to join with their first vow. So if your stuff isn't ready to vow by the 1st, you've still got a good chunk time to sort it out and still enter the competition.

Dantay VI · May 5, 2018

36dd4af0abf3068ec6b2bf3c02f44003_1 by Danny Taylor, on Flickr

Hail & Well met, warrior of Russ!!

First of all we would like to thnk you for considering to join the Wolves on this grand adventure & welcome you to the ETL. We sincerely hope that you will find it both interesting & fun. For those of you who haven’t taken part in The ETL with the Wolves before, we thought it would be a good idea to put together a small something, to give you some explanation & tips as to what the ETL is. And for those wily veterans who have survived the trials of the TL, it would be a good place to pass forth your venerable experiences to the rest of the pack.

For those who have not been involved in a painting competition, hopefully this will help to give you a flavour of what to expect. If you have done a similar competition in the past, we hope this doesn’t come across as teaching you how to suck eggs

So what is the ETL?

ETL stands for E Tenebrae Lux. The ETL started out life as a painting challenge put forth by the Dark Angels sub-forum. This has now grown to encompass all the sub-forums into a full on, inter-forum painting competition whereby an individual vows a legal unit (or units) for a particular sub-faction and for our overall faction (Astartes in our instance) and has to paint them to completion (to your standard, which you alone can decide) within a three month time frame. The faction with the most points painted is crowned the winner earning eternal glory (special signatures, etc) and a year's worth of bragging rights.

Whilst we work alongside our brother chapters to push the Astartes to victory, there are also other titles to be won with in our faction, to work towards being the best of the best. Failure no longer just brings shame to the chapter, but to the Astartes as a whole, so lets try to lead by example.

Last ETL we came third overall and were the best of the Imperium factions. Lets see if we can continue where we left off.

This is the sixth year of the ETL.

The ETL VI

Captain Semper has already stated that the spirit of the ETL has remained unchanged, but due to changes in edition, index/codex etc, it has been a challenging time and he has pulled off an amazing job to bring te ETL back together. Even though he is a scion of the Lion, he has earned our greatest respect. Therefore rules-wise a number of things have changed, so do not be under the premise that all the old rules still apply. I would suggest that you go to the first post and make yourself familiar with the new rules.

This is what we do knw and remains pretty much the same as previous ETL's:

The challenge will start on 1^st May 2016 and run until 1^st August 5pm GMT.

In order to participate in the ETL, your first vow must be made within 1 month of the ETL start date By 1st June 5pm.

There is no maximum value for your vow, however there is a complete cap at 20,000 points, so split your vows how you wish, lots of small vows or 1 giant vow!! You cannot make a new vow until the old is completed

All models to be a legal Codex/Index entry and WYSIWYG

Two pictures must be supplied. An unpainted/primed picture at the start of your vow, as evidence that you have not jumped the gun and a picture of your completed vow. If you have made a vow, but are working on your models in stages for example 4 packs of 10 Grey Hunters, but you plan to do them in batches of 20, a before shot of each batch, and then a final picture of all the models completed will suffice

What Can I Do?

Basically, we have already started but we still have up to a month before we have to vow, so it is a choice between using the month to prep and risk losing painting time or going for it now and hoping it all falls into place for the 1st August. It is up to you to determine the strategy of your great company. But remember to fail one vow is to fail all, so be careful as te lost vows will affect the overall total for the team..

Make your vows manageable: Split the models you want to vow up into small manageable portions and work on them when you can. It takes the pressure off of you and it will give more time to look around and enjoy the creativity around. There is nothing worse than being head down, bum up and painting 24/7, under pressure to hit a deadline and detesting every moment of it.

From a team perspective, any uncompleted vows nullify your entire points haul & affect the rest of the Space Wolves overall points total plus that of the Astartes in general, so small achievable vows are much better than one large daunting vow. We would like to achieve as close to 100% completion rate as possible.

Paint all your Thunderwolves/ Fenrisian Wolves/Wulfen as one vow, or split into 2, paint all your vehicles in one vow, troops in another. This will hopefully get you into a production line style of painting and will help you to get through a number of models faster than painting them individually. I know.

For years I have painted one model at a time and get so discouraged when I see on model don, but a wall of grey plastic/ resin staring at me. Getting into a production line kind ogf groove has really helped keep me motivated and seen me start to work my way through the literal mountain of models sitting in my garage.

If you are magnetising, vow the expensive choice! Also, things like hunter-killer missiles count as they are WYSIWYG so add them to your vehicles even if it's via blu-tac!

Rumour is that we will be allowed to run Cypher, so raid your bits box for a bolt pistol, plasma pistol and enough parts to make a counts-as Cypher

Pace yourself: real life stuff, such as, exams, weddings, births, looking for a job etc can and most likely will come up at some point during the ETL, so leave yourself a little bit of wiggle room. If you start to get hacked off then take a wee break to recharge the batteries before going again.

Remember, the ETL is a marathon not a sprint, so there is no need to go hammer & thong in the first week only to tire yourself out.

Never be afraid to ask questions: As an engineer the first thing I was taught, is that there is no such thing as a stupid question. The Space Wolves forum is one of the friendliest on here & if you are struggling with something or are unsure about what can go into a vow etc.. Ask, because there will always be someone out there willing to help you.

We are a Team: One of the best parts of the ETL is the melting pot of modellers & painters coming together. Not sure how to paint something? Put it out there. Saw someone use a new technique? Ask how it was done. Want to share something you have learned? Share it.

There may be some Silver Wolves amongst us, but we are never too old to learn & we like new tricks

Have fun: Above all this is the most important thing to do. We want this to be really enjoyable for you & something we hope you will want to take part in year after year

So lets take up our brushes & like the Wolves which came before us, relish the challenge ahead. For Russ & the AllFather.

Dantay VI · May 5, 2018

Okay, back again.

Anyway, you may have heard some mentions of an Outpost while you have been looking around the forums.

So, what is the Outpost?

Each faction will have its own dedicated thread called the “Outpost”. The Outposts are situated in all the relevant Forums and serve two purposes: The official and the unofficial.

The official purpose of an ETL Strategium is for participants to submit their vows and for Captain Semper to post the list of the Wolves participating (at least in our forum). Beside each persons name will be a link, which shows your vows, their points’ total and their status.Captain Semper will also be posting weekly updates that will help everybody to monitor the overall progress of the members of their forum and progress of the event as a whole.

The unofficial purpose is to serve as a place for participants to encourage each other, discuss developments, devise strategies and even for espionage!

I hope this helps to answer a question for you & if you have any queries… Well you know the drill.

Thanks

Danny

Dantay VI · May 5, 2018

A few guys have of you have come back with queries, and with that in mind I have written up a 2 part tutorial on creating, uploading & posting pictures using the B&C gallery.

Rather than make a huge message posting the step-by-step, I have made them into topics and by clicking on the link below, you can access them.

I have also included a few other links, for things such as making fur, making cloaks etc.

I hope you find this useful.

If I have missed anything, let me know and I can add it in, as I am hoping that over time we can build up a small list and produce a resource guide which can be expanded upon. If you also have your own tutorials and the like which you feel could be useful to the Wolves then by all means share them too.

I have not included painting tutorials yet, as painting is very subjective and there are a myriad of techniques and paints out there.

Thanks

Danny

Step by step: Creating a gallery & uploading images to B&C

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321601-step-by-step-creating-a-gallery-uploading-pictures/

Step by step: Posting images from your B&C gallery

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321602-adding-pictures-to-posts/

Sculpting fur & pelts:

Using plasticard for banners, cloaks & creating fur, by Argyle.

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/304500-cloaks-banners-and-fur-oh-my/

Making cloaks from tissue:

http://www.bolterand...de-from-tissue/

A quick note, I have tried this and found tissue too delicate for me and have used paper towels instead

Modelling 2 handed weapons:

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/229781-modelling-two-handed-weapons/

Note, you can drill out and mount an axe or hammer head on the rod used in the tutorial (example is a sword)

Armour detailing using molds:

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/258828-greenstuff-armour-detail-techniques/

Making Green stuff runes:

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/162088-modelling-gs-runes/

Magnetising vehicles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lltk3XCFJ_c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmORuogdqow

Quick and easy, gore n blood:

Pinning and posing Space Marines:

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/314132-space-marine-pinning-posing-green-stuff-video-tutorial/

Green stuff chains for vehicles:

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/188293-greenstuffing-chains/

Reposing Knight legs:

http://www.bolterand...ght-titan-legs/

Making Magna-Melta relic predator:

http://www.bolterand...configurations/

Making a relic plasma Predator:

http://www.bolterand...er-plasma-pred/

Sculpting greenstuff cloaks:

http://www.bolterand...enstuff-cloaks/

Liquid greenstuff:

http://loserstudio.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/liquid-green-stuff-review.html#more

Magnetising a Knight

Weathering tanks, muddying up with sand :

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/228893-how-to-weather-tanks-hd-video-tutorial/

Have Fun

Danny :smile.:

Dantay VI · May 5, 2018

I know we are all at different places in our hobbying journey, some are amazing builders and others amazing painters, then there are those of us, who fall somewhere in between.

I am not going to try and lecture you or teach you how to paint. Like I said in the modelling section, painting Space Wolves is very subjective & we all have our own recipes and colours which we like to use.

For example a lot of my Space Wolves are now becoming Mechanicus Standard Grey rather than The Fang!

For me there is so much more to paint than the armour, so this guide is more hints, tips for getting going and painting all the accessory parts, like plasma glow, fur, lenses, skin etc. I really hope these help you out.

As most people do not have airbrushes, I have concentrated mainly on using brushes only, but if folks want airbrush stuff I will see what I can find.

Let me know what you find useful or useless and let s see if we can build up a great repository for the Fang

Thanks

Danny

Joey berry

Painting do’s & dont’s