"End of the week" status

Even though it is alredy a few days in to the week I'm caling this the end-of-the-week update. I'm collecting my dogs again tomorrow and will have them the comming week, so my Warhammer hobby will get a few days rest.

These last days I've managed to almost complete my Tyranid test-figure. The only thing remaining now is to paint the rim of the base. I think the color scheme turned out real well, and for once I managed to just get a thin coat of wash on the model. Then I went for a thicker coat on the base. For the purple I washed with Druchii Violet and then I drybrushed with Genestealer Purple that I used to paint it in the first place. 
The skin and base was drybrushed Agrax Earrtthshade. The skin got a thin coat while the base got a good load. Then I used Moghast Bone to drybrush the skin gently, and the base got a heavier drybrush with Screaming Skull. 

Here is a close-up of the base, after the drybrush. When I get the rim painted this mini will be done. I look forward to building, priming and painting up more in this color scheme and I look forward to seeing lots of Tyranids painted up like this on the table.

The other project I have been working on is the Valkyrie for the Imperial Guard. This is what it looks like now, The next step is the cockpit, but that will happen when the dogs go to their other home.

I have to say the instructions for this set is pretty bad (hopefully they have gotten better over the years as my model is old), but despite of that I do enjoy building it, and I think it will look pretty good when it is all built and painted.

You don't see much of the inside from the side, even though the side doors are open, but that might chage slightly when the bird is standing on its stand. But still I wanted to paint the interior so I spent some time on that.

This is looking in through the back gate, and you can almost see the two gunners manning their heavy bolters peaking out of the side doors. Before I glued the wings on I checked if I could take them out and put them back in. I am not sure it will be as easy now that the wings are on, but I have to try sometime. The gunners are glued to the gun, and the gun is put in its cradle that is glued to the armholding it to the side of the Valkyrie. So by lifting and tilting the gun I should be able to take the figures out. I need to do this if Iwant to close the doors. For one of the other Valkyries I plan to build the guns but not add the crewmen.

I wanted to paint up the interior, so I have painted some pipes and cables and also screens and buttons.

I had to add a picture from the behind too. The tailgate is open, but I will see what whill happen when the model is finished if it closes, if I plan the model on the base with the gate open or if I might have to glue it shut.

Tyranids color cheme

Yeserday I wrote that I had bought the Leviathan box and that I would start a Tyranids army and build it up slowly to an acceptible size. 

When I was at the store I talked about my plans and got a "miniature of the month" called a Termagant to use as a test model for my color scheme. The Termagant is one of the smaller creatures of the Tyranid army and it is armed with some sort of bio-gun. There are several of these in the Leviathan box, and in the new online reveal yesterday we were shown this same creture with a lot of different weapons. 

This is apparently one of the most common creatures in a hive fleet, sort of the infantry, so I look forward to building and painting up a lot of them with different weapons options. 

I think I have found the color scheme I want to use.

The colors I have landed on is Morghast Bone for the bodies. I wanted a light color, but white is hard to get to look good at least without painting many layers. And I think this color will fit well as some sort of camouflage against my bases that will be Armageddon Dust or Armageddon Dunes like I do with all (at least almost all) my 40K models.

 

For the claws I wanted a horn color, so I went with Nazdreg Yellow. This is a color I use for most of the horns I paint in Age of Sigmar. This gives the claws a natural color, but not the classic black that you see on many pictures of Tyranids.

Then the hard scales, or the armor if you like, got painted with Genestealer Purple. This is a light purple color and I like that. I also think it contrasts well with the Morghast Bone and I have known for a long time that I would like to use purple on my Tyranids if I ever wanted to get this army.

The tongue and what looks like gills on the body has been painted with Volupus Pink. This is the same color I have used for tongues and the insides of mouths on a lot of other projects and I'm quite happy with that. 

After these pics were taken I painted the teeth Screaming Scull as this is whiter than Morghast Bone but not classic white.

I also found the color I think I want to use for the bio-weapons and I landed on Phonecian Purple. It is a darker purple but still quite bright. I have painted it on now, and to make it clear that the weapon is biological and part of the organism I painted the scales on the top of the weapon Genestealer Purple to match the scales on the body of the Termagant.

I will have another look at the model tomorrow, and if I'm still happy with the colors I will put Armageddon Dunes or Dust on the base, and then start with washes and drybrushing if I feel I need that after. My idea right now is to use the same paint as I have used now to drybrush.

I will post final pics when this work is done.

Imperial Guard, Space Marines and a new faction

If you have seen the lables for this post, then you already know that the new faction is Tyranids. So let us start there and let the cat out of the bag. I have bought my first Tyranids. I was at Warhmmer Oslo today and they had four of the new Leviathan boxes in the store so I got one. 

I have long stayed away from the Tyranids because I have no idea how to paint them up. I have tried with some Genestealers but have not been satisfied so I have stayed away. But as the years have passed I have given it a lot of thought and seen a lot of nicely painted 'Nids and now I feel the time is here to give it  go. I plan to give them a light paint scheme with some sort of off-white and light purple and maybe some pink or light red.

Today Games Workshop revealed models that will replace some of the old range and they look really good, so I look forward to expanding the force over time. But I do not want to do it too fast, as I have way too many models to build and paint as it is.

The Leviathan box also includes Space Marines and they have made new versions for several of the units. One unit that is all new is the Terminators that has been made bigger than the old ones and apparently the heads are placed in a more natural place compared to the shouders than on the old ones. I look forward to building and painting them, and I will get more of them when they are released as a separate box. I already have so many Terminators, but I think there always is room for a few more. 

I have also started on a new unit for the Walpurgian 3rd. This time it is a Valkyrie from the 1st Airborne and I have an idea how I want to paint it up. I have painted most of the interior of the troop or cargo compartment, but  the weapons and gunners remain. I am working on them now.

I think the Valkyrie will be black and dark gray just like the vehicles I have painted up for the army, but I will have to think a little bit more on what parts should get what color. The inside of the troop/cargo copartment is black, and I think the cockpit interior will be the same. The pilots will have dark gray pants, or maybe Death Corps drab if I want it to look like a rugged flight suit. I will see how they look when I come to that step in the instructions.

I have one big problem with the Valkyrie, and it is a showstopper so it will not be completed for a while. One of the two side panels for the front cockpit is gone from the set. Probably it has broken off, and I have managed to loose it when opening the box and looking at the sprues some time before. So I have to wait for the Valkyrie to come back in stock so I can get a new one. I talked to the staff at the Warhammer store and asked if they know if GW makes spares but they told me they don't but they would contact customer service for me anyway, as it could be possible that they had a spare sprue if something went wrong in the moulding of new sets. But I am thinking I will buy another one and then use most of the parts for an Ork flyer. Then I have extra crew and some extra parts to use on future builds. My plan is to have three Valkyries and kit them out a little differently for each.