I keep saying that this guy is just about done. Of course there never seems to be an end of things I notice once I get to looking at the photos.

I'm so close to finished that I can taste it. It is delicious! I'll be very glad to set this model aside for awhile and get back to Kharn and my display tank.

I'm pleased with the overall result but still a bit disappointed that he's not on the same level as the Kharn model. I expect this guy and a couple sets of arms to find his way to eBay once I get a new commander put together for my 750 point list.

I still need to finish highlighting the armour and detail the sword -- otherwise I think that this guy is ready to go.

I've seen a couple of the other entries for the competition now -- and while I know I don't have much of a chance I'm still glad to be entering and competing. I've learned a lot between this and the Kharn model; both of which were intended for this competition and both of which got more attention that my usual efforts.

One week from tomorrow....

Black Templar - Army Blog Update

I got home too tired to really paint tonight so I decided to do some modeling for my army with the few BT bits I have on hand. Having made the two test models that I debuted with my magnetic commander I was, however, out of Black Templar torsos.

I found a Company Champion torso in my bits box and decided that it was perfect usable in my BT army - and perfectly unique enough in the scheme to fit for a character model. And so... here is the "Emperor's Champion" model for my 750 point Black Templar army.

My goal with the army is to use only existing GW pieces off of the sprue with no conversion, no sculpting and no plasticard additions. I really want to see what the GW plastic models are capable of... and so far I'm pretty happy with the results.

I'm waiting on a bits order to get the BT bolt pistol for his right hand. I will use one of the BT shoulders on that side and, of course, more decorative bits. So far he's up to 11 purity/crusade seals -- and I found a BT backpack topper in my bits box.

Of course I'm so happy with this piece that I will probably make a new body for my magnetic commander. If he's going to be the centerpiece of my army I figure he ought to be at least half as bad ass as this guy.

Tier 1 Black Templar Rhino and Razorback. These vehicles will join the Black Templar Predator I did awhile back.

With the Black Templar stuff I've been painting, and the black and white scheme for Niroe's army, is it any wonder that I will be fielding a Black Templar army of my own?

Final image on a squad of Black Templar Crusaders and three heavy weapons. These were done to the Tier 1 standard and I think are very representative of work at that level. I will actually use shots of these guys when I update the commission page to show examples.

Ultimately I'm pretty pleased with them and plan on fielding my own Black Templar army at a similar painting level.

Now it's back to trying to find a scheme for Niroe's flyers that will do justice to the incredible detail that Forgeworld saw fit to model.

I finally (finally!) have an update image on my magnetic Black Templar commander. This is the model that I will be entering in to the Relic competition (with only 2 weeks to go, eep!) -- and what will become the centerpiece of my 750 point army.

Yup, I'm finally (finally!) going to give playing a try again. The last time I played we were all being amused by the new 2nd edition rule set. Ah, those were the days. So now I have a couple of 750 point lists drawn up and hope to hit the tables this summer. The last shot in this image shows the commander with twin lightning claws next to two test models.

The next image is just a sample from the Black Templar dreadnought I've been working on. I haven't done anything but the two weapons -- and I'm not sure I'll use them if I actually build a list.

Regardless of whether or not I wind up fielding this army I think it'll be a good exercise -- and if nothing else it will be good practice.

I redid all of the NMM gold -- I have also done the bulk of my NMM steel. I do intend to go over the chains with some rust and dirth but only when I'm ready to weather the whole model.

The 40 mm base was made from Super Sculpey.

Still a bit of work to do including the gun, axe, finishing the backpack and general clean-up and weathering. I hope to finish him today so that I can get back to my competition entry... which I haven't touched since I picked this guy up.

I'm in love....

While working on the Kharn model I decided to put together a wet pallete to help with the NMM blending. I took an old blister pack, cut a sponge, and picked up some baking parchment at the grocery store.

Now I'm in love.

The paint not only stayed wet while I was working on the model for more than an hour -- but when I came back to the den after dinner and a movie... yup, most of the paint was still wet.

For any blended colours this technique is going to be invaluable.

Thank you, internet!

This is the first actual WIP image for the model. And, so far, some of my best work to date. This includes extensive layering on each colour and non-metal metallic (NMM) gold.

This is my first foray in to the world of NMM and while it was a pain (and I'll do it differently next time, of course) I'm pleased with the overall result.

More to come -- but I finally feel like I might actually compete with the other folks in my tier.

[UPDATE: Denied! I will not be able to enter this model in to the competition - I did too much work on him for everyone to feel comfortable beliving that it's only 2.5 hours - or started *after* the competition began. So back to my original model.]

News and updates....

I thought that I had already posted this but a search of the posts didn't bring anything up, so....

I have entered my first painting competition. The competition is for single infantry miniatures on a 20-40mm base. Entrants are divided in to two levels -- and I have been placed (so far) in the higher tier.

I had originally entered my magnetic Black Templar commander -- but just posted a request to change models. I'm not all that pleased with my progress on the BT model whereas last night I did my best work to date... on Kharn the Betrayer. I am very inspired by the work I've done so far and really want to get this model finished.

Of course the entire thing is a bit humbling when I see the list of names in the higher tier. I will be competing directly with some of the folks whose work freqently leaves my eyes wide with wonder. On the plus side being grouped with these folks is enough to make me walk away happy with the whole experience -- even if my odds for actually winning are rather low.

I hope to be able to do a bit more work on Kharn tonight and will post a photo as soon as I can.

I will also have commission photos to post later this week -- and added a couple of links to the gallery today.

I am also working on getting the archives up and correcting the display issues on label and archive pages.