Ultramarines Tactical Squad

I started work on this Tac Squad for the annual Relic forum competition. I'm using it as an excuse to try zenithal highlighting with an airbrush and to showcase the helmet crest conversion bits from Secret Weapon Miniatures.

The fourth photo down, of the Tac Marine without his gun, does a decent job of showing the airbrushed highlights. Using an airbrush is an easy way to create smooth transitions for directional lighting. The style isn't for everyone but I'm a fan.

I have also included a shot of the sergeant with his squad to show the combination of the Greek and small Roman style helmet crests in action together.

Storm Wardens Roundup

When I was approached to paint a model and supply bases for the Storm Wardens Project I was thrilled. We set a goal of raising $1,000 for Doctors Without Borders.

Well here is the completed army shot - without all of the extras like custom dice and templates. All of the bases are from the Secret Weapon 'Flagstone' theme -- and I'm very happy to announce that we not only met our goal but exceeded it.

The total collected was

$16,107.00

for Doctors Without Borders!

I kid you not.

My heartfelt thanks go out to all of the gamers that contributed to the project - and to the incredible team of people that made this happen and allowed Secret Weapon Miniatures to be a part of it.

The Mathieu Fontaine Workshop Ogre

I was lucky enough to spend a weekend with Mathieu Fontaine at one of his masterclass painting workshops. The experience was incredible and this is the Ogre I painted. I'm still not convinced that it's finished - but I'm going to stop here for now and apply the techniques I picked up to other models.

If you get a chance to attend one of these masterclass workshops don't miss it. Really.

My thanks to Mathieu for his incredible help... and patience!

Storm Wardens: FINISHED Land Raider!

Here it is, my finished contribution to the Storm Wardens Project - raising money for 'Doctors Without Borders'.

More than 600 people have already contributed and there's still one week left to add your name to the roll for a chance to win the entire army -- including custom dice, accessories and a carrying bag!

I'm fairly happy with how the model turned out and took step-by-step photos of the rust in the hope that I'll have time to put together a new tutorial in coming weeks.

Head over to the Storm Wardens Project HQ to see a photo of the finished army -- and remember, more is on the way!

Storm Wardens: Project Update

The community has rallied behind the cause and over 570 people have made a contribution to the Storm Wardens Project and therefore Doctors Without Borders, our chosen charity. But we know there are many more of you out there who want to contribute!

The basic idea is that when you contribute via the Paypal button on our blogs, you are entered in a drawing to receive the entire Storm Wardens army (in the vicinity of 2,000 points) along with a bunch of great swag - such as GF9 Storm Wardens templates, Storm Wardens dice from Chessex, a Battlefoam bag filled with custom cut foam for the army, and even a couple of Storm Wardens T-shirts so you can wear them with pride as you play the army in your FLGS. The army will be fully assembled (mostly converted) and fully painted by some of the most renowned US hobbyists across the blogosphere.

The final drawing takes place on Sunday July 25, on a Special Storm Wardens Edition of Jawaballs Live!

We also have a lot of other prizes being given away over the course of the build, keep an eye out on Santa Cruz Warhammer and From The Warp each week for information about these bonus prizes, contributed by the community.

Every dollar donated goes to Doctors Without Borders (apart from the PayPal fees of course) as all the other swag (including the original models) have been donated by the painters themselves, by their FLGS, or by a list of other great companies. Anyone, anywhere in the world, can contribute - we will ship the prizes anywhere in the world!

Props: Severed Thumb

The production of Macbeth that I'm in was using a cheap magicians thumb as a prop and, never being one to leave well enough alone, I decided to bring it home and have a go at making it look less pink and more grim.

I'm pretty happy with the results and think I got a fair representation of pallid, rotting but recently severed flesh. I filled the hollow cavity with resin and there's blood drying in the small lip and along the edges. I used a nice dark colour on the blood since it would be well congealed and oxidized by this point.

I get to unveil it in a couple of hours for our next dress rehearsal and I'm looking forward to the reaction.

Storm Wardens: Land Raider pt. 2

My contribution to the Storm Wardens Charity Project is well on its way. There's still time for you to contribute and get a chance to win the entire army. Check out the links on the right to see what the rest of the team - including some big names! - are up to.

As for the model... please forgive the shine - I put down a layer of clear gloss before applying the pigments and the model is very, very shiny. It's finally starting to come together though and I should have it finished early next week.

While I was working on this I remembered a quick tip for working with tank treads: if there's a track guard in place the FRONT tracks will be clean and shiny except in the deepest recesses. Save your heavy weathering for the back of the tank. The track guard will rub the track clean and what you'll be left with up front is a small amount of dirt and rust.

When I finish the rest of the basic detailing I'll come back and apply the pigment weathering to the sides and back of the tank. I'm using "Burning Sands" as the primary colour to help the model work with the pressure cast resin bases - "Flagstone" - that the entire army is standing on.

More to come as I have time.

Storm Wardens: Land Raider

In addition to contributing bases for the army and a $50 gift certificate, both through Secret Weapon Miniatures, I am also painting up this Land Raider. The model itself was donated by John of Santa Cruz Warhammer and came to me in a satin green finish.

I have finished the base and highlight blues - using Regal and Enchanted blues in the airbrush - and am now moving on to the silver and detailing. You can rest assured that the model will receive a full compliment of weathering making use of my recent tutorial techniques so that folks can see them on something other than bases.

There is still plenty of time to contribute and enter to win your chance to win this model AND A COMPLETE STORM WARDENS ARMY! All of the proceeds go to benefit Doctors Without Borders. If that's not enough for you then every week you will be automatically entered into one of the mini-drawings.

Really, this project just kicks ass. You should be a part of it! Come on, spend $1 for your chance to win AND feel good about doing it!

Storm Wardens: Secret Weapon Mini-Drawing

As part of the "Storm Wardens Charity Project" I'm donating a $50 gift certificate to the Secret Weapon store. If you have already donated then you're automatically entered to win - if you enter today there's still time to get your name into the randomizer!

Every $1 you contribute gives you another chance to have your name drawn for this $50 gift certificate - AND YOU CAN STILL WIN THE ARMY!

Head over to Santa Cruz Warhammer, our organizer in chief, for complete details on the mini-drawing as well as an exclusive coupon!

All of the contributions will go to benefit "Doctors Without Borders" and there are some incredible names getting behind this project. Don't miss you chance to win an incredible army and support a worthy charity.

Storm Wardens Charity Project: PRIZE LIST!

First, a HUGE thanks to all the guys participating in this by donating their time and models and all of the vendors who have contributed some amazing stuff to this project. Thank you very much!

Here is the current Grand Prize list, please keep in mind that some things may change without notice due to deadlines, additional donations, acts of God and all kinds of other unforseen reasons.
And, there are weekly drawings, more info on those here.
That being said, here's what you stand to win if you donate...

THE ARMY:
Loaded HQ command squad
Tactical squad w/rhino
Tactical Squad
Vindicator
Scout squad and Scout speeder
5 man Terminator squad
Land Raider
Sternguard Veterans
Rhino/razorback/whirlwind interchangeable multi vehicle
Multi Land speeder
3 Bikers
5 Devastators
Drop Pods (unknown how many)
Chaplain
Librarian


Extras:
24 Custom dice with army logo
1 Storm Wardens logo Tshirt
Autographed copy of Death Watch Game
High quality mounted print of the SW artwork
Objective markers
TAC Template, Multi-template, Turn Counter
"Storm Wardens Paint Set" (paints and brushes)
Battlefoam bag and Custom Foam cuts
Storm Wardens T-shirt

AND MORE!
This week I will be adding a $50 Secret Weapon gift certificate to the mini-drawing queue! I'll have a formal announcement up at the Secret Weapon blog tomorrow but if you have donated to the Storm Wardens Charity Project you're automatically entered in the mini-drawings!

For as little as $1 you will have a chance to win this incredible army AND give money to a worthy charity. Check out the "Storm Wardens Army Blogs" list on the upper right of this page to see what the rest of the team is up to.