Brother Hesdiel's 2nd Tac, 3rd Co.

The second tactical squad of the 3rd Company is complete.

I used pretty much the same technique as with the first squad, with minor tweaks. This time around I spent more time highlighting each marine's power armour contours to bring out the shape. I then ended up going back to the 1st squad and adding those same highlights.  Without them, the dipped green was just too flat looking.

The big differences were with my painting equipment.  Two major improvements: new paint brush and the P3 Wet Palette.

I pained these guys mostly with a Winsor & Newton Minature Series 7 Nr. 3 brush. Yes, that brush does cost more than twice what a normal brush costs, however, so far I am very happy with the results. It provides a perfect balance between area coverage and clean lines. 

I also tried using the Privateer Press P3 Wet Palette for the first time and I am very impressed. I think it is essential for anyone paining larger groups of figures with the same colour, because it makes the paint last forever on the palette. Especially if you have to custom blend a shade, having it dry on the palette within 10 minutes is very frustrating. With the wet palette, you can keep on painting and painting.  One word of caution, it is very easy to get thin paints overly watery, so be careful when using thin colours. 

With my core Troops done, it's time to move on to Elites.  One squad of Deathwing is coming next. 

Brother Ramiel's 1st Tac, 3rd Co.

The 1st Tactical squad of the 3rd Company is complete.

For the rank and file Dark Angels I used a DA Green spray primer. Priming in the base colour is the fastest way to get squads painted. 

Then I undercoated the guns, robes and insignia in white which allowed the red and bone colours to nicely stand out. 

As always, it is critical to have all lines extremely clean so I took a bit longer fixing up all the little paint overruns.

For the metals, I used a single coat of silver or brass and washed with the P3 armour wash.

Given that this army is considerably darker than my Orcs, I switched to the Dark Tone of the Army Painter Quickshade.  After the shade was applied, I sprayed matt varnish before adding highlights. 

Two things I learned: 

1) Red can be effectively highlighted with bone+red mixture. This was a pro-tip from a visiting painter at my local game store Strategies. (thanks!)

2) The Dark Tone still gets pretty much lost in the DA green armour so the effect is subtler than I would have liked. However with some highlighting the power-armour came out reasonably well.

3) Brother Ramiel's bald head is very shiny.  I may have to touch it up with some hair effect...

The finished product is definitely good enough for the table!  And with only 10 troops per squad, I can put in a bit more time than I did with my Orc grunts.

Next up: Brother Hesdiel's 2nd Tac, 3rd Co. squad.  

The Descent Begins

It has happened. I picked up the Dark Vengeance box, exchanged the Chaos minis and doubled up on the Dark Angels.  Fantasy Battles is still my number one game, however, I have been impressed with the 40k 6th rules. Fun, simple and with a massive following.

So as my orcs would say: 'Ere we go 'Ere we go!

• 2 Tactical squads
• 2 Deathwing Squads
• 2 small Raven wing squads (which can be combined into one  big squad) 
• Chapter Master
• Librarian
• Chaplain

This is not a competitive army but it is a great core of an army.  

My plan is to paint both the Tacticals first, then a squad of Deathwing, then a character or two, then the bikes and finish with the last Deathwing squad. 

Let the dipping begin!

Mork wants ya!

The mighty Ol' Bones Orc Shaman is ready to rain down some Mork and Gork stomping on the enemy.
For this model I went back to traditional shading and highlighting given that it is a character. I am finding that the mix of Army Painter fast shading for all normal units and traditional blending and shading for the characters is a perfect mix. I can get a lot of troops painted quickly to a great Table Top standard and then take my time enjoying the detail and subtleties of the character models.

I love this sculpt. There is a sense of wisdom and experience emanating from this venerable Orc which is a great contrast to the  bravado and fury typical of the other models. Plus the soft lines and well pronounced shading points make it very easy to paint.

I used multiple layers of lightness for the shading building up from a dark shade all the way to the highlight. Both bone and leather also received a chestnut wash to really bring out the detail.

With this character, 2000 points are complete.  However, this is what I would call "weak" 2000 points because they rely on tooled-up characters to soak up the points. I will have to play a couple of games to see what I want to add to the army to create a more competitive 2000 point horde.

Oi, You Drive, I Shoot!

The goblin chariot has been one of my favorite models from the O&G line.  More than the Orc chariot, there is a distinct charm to the sculpt and the wild abandon of the goblins.

The Army Painter dip worked very well for this model. Green and bone are the two best colours for AP dip shading so I am very happy with how the model turned out. I made one change to my process based on the tutorials on the Army Painter site which worked very nicely. I applied the dull-coat varnish right after dipping, but before adding detail. The dull coated surfaces are better for painting and detailing than glossy ones. I will continue to paint in this order going forward.

Next up, an Orc Shaman will deliver some Big Waaagh!

Time to Go Bowling with a Mangler!

The Mangler Squig is ready to cause havoc!

With these larger models, the Army Painter dip is at the limit of what it can deliver. I am not completely pleased with how some of the larger recesses ended up looking, even though the overall effect is tabletop ready. This model will not win any competitions, but it will hopefully flatten some units.

I was pleasantly surprised by the GW yellow Base colour which I used on the Night Goblin hoods. A single layer of the base and a touch-up of bright yellow created a very nice and quick effect. This method of painting yellow rays on black is much quicker than the traditional method of painting the rays in white first and then covering with yellow. If you are still on the fence about the Base paint set, I can vouch for the yellow at least.

Next up, the Horde keeps marching on to the 2000 point mark. I have two more models to add to the mix and then the Horde will be unleashed.

Every Rock Lobba Has It's Day!

Sharptusk's 1500 point horde was ambushed by the Lizardmen while trying to cross a mountain pass. This was the first game with the full army which gave me a chance to check out the newly painted Trolls, the Black Orks and the BSB.

The setup was along the short edge to simulate the mountain pass my Orks were battling through.  The Lizards were allowed to deploy their Stegadon as an Ambusher which meant that it would get a flank charge on some unfortunate unit.

I set up the Orks in a balanced line, with Skarsnik's Wolves making a fast advance on the right flank, Black Orks and the Boyz in the center with Sharptusk in the middle and Maddspittle's Savage Orks bringing the pain on the left flank. Crusher was safely tucked away behind the river.

First Turn saw the game changing play.  Crusher the Rock Lobba landed a direct hit on the Slann Mage protected by the Temple Guard, who then failed his Look Out Sir roll, failed his ward save, took 6 wounds and exploded like bloated toad. That one, well placed rock took out the Lizard's only caster, BSB and general all in one go. Best shot of Crusher's career.

Both lines advance.  The wolves harass the Salamander killing a handler on the Lizard's left flank. Vanguard makes Fast Cav really fast!

What followed next was a slaughter.  The Savage Orks chase off the skinks and get charged by the Temple Guard who are crushed by bad rolls and frenzied green choppa wielding monsters.  This collapses the Lizards right flank.  On the Left flank, the Saurus charge the Black Orks and the Trolls while the Stegadon wanders onto the field in support and slams into the Black Ork flank.  

Sharptusk turns his Boyz in support of the Black Orks, but between the Stegadon Impact Hits and Monstrous Stomp, they are wiped out to the Ork before the Boyz can join in.  When they do, however, the Saurus do not stand a chance and are run down and destroyed.

Sharptusk chases the Saurus straight into the Stegadon flank and we call the game.  With only the Stegadon remaining, the Lizards have no chance of victory. Sharptusk prevails!

Lessons Learned
Every Rock Lobber has its day.  Crusher had one good hit the entire game before missing and misfiring, but that one hit was all I wanted from it.

Black Orks need to be at least 20 strong to be useful.  With only 15, they just die too quickly and start losing attacks.  The unit itself, however, is excellent.  Armed to Da Teef is a fantastic rule.

Trolls are great support unit when backed by infantry.  They stomped many a Saurus while the Black Orks held the line.

BSB is a must for Orks.  Glad I pained one up.

Wolves are more fun than use.  I love their speed and the annoyance factor, but at 100 points they just do not do enough.  I am not sure how to play them next time.  Perhaps a unit of 5 for pure throw-away distraction.

Armed to Da Teef

The Leftooth's Black Orks are done and ready for stomping!

 As with the other army pieces, I used the Army Painter dip.

This time, however, I have to say that I am not as impressed with how the black armor came out. This is not a surprise, given how the dip performed on the ork boyz's black tunics. In the end, I had to dry brush a detail outline onto the armor just to give it some shape.

I am quite happy with the final result, especially given how the free-hand Ork spiky decorations came out.

This bunch of meanies completes my 1500 points!  Momentous occasion indeed.  I am now ready to test the army in battle and grow it to 2000.

Don't Troll on Me!

Having taken care of leading the army with a stylish Orc battle standard, it is time to bring some pain.  Trolls can provide some heavy hitting and staying power.  Or at least, that is the theory.

Three River Trolls before

and after.

Back to the trusty Army Painter Dip.  With models this large, there is no actual dipping. Instead, I used a large soft brush to liberally brush on the dip and then gently wipe off the excess with paper towel scraps. This worked very well and after the models dried, I added some highlights to the faces, hands and green scales bringing out the detail.

Models of this size really push the boundaries of what the dip is capable of shading, but they still came out looking very table ready.


Next up: More hitting and staying power. Time to crank up this Waagh to Black Orcs!