Saint Celestine - finished

Well, here she is, and due to time constraints a number of key areas of the plan had to be jettisoned. As a result I feel that I have not entered the best possible version of Celestine I can do into this competition, but hopefully its good enough.

She is firstly all in NMM. Gold Armour, Silver sword and Brass Orb. The sword is blended down to green for the Power Weapon. Scroll work is basic scroll with lettering on the large ones at the feet.

The robe held by the cherubs is a cool blue. A unique mix of my own, 1:1 Regal Blue/Shadow Grey with a dab of chaos black. then highlighted up with various degrees of Bleached Bone added to the mix.

The bird is your common city or garden Pigeon. To black stripes on the wings, shiny green neck, yellow eyes.

The hip robe is wet blended Regal Blue into Scab Red with white added to the highlight.

The cherub's are rushed off and frankly awful.

The is no freehand design on the model due to time pressure.

The base is no longer a temple floor, and is instead a Grassy battlefield with a single rose growing under her feet. Again this change had to be made right at the last hour due to time running out.

And thats it. Hope you like it. All I can see are the mistakes. I'd like to attempt her again one day, for my own pleasure and see how much improvement I can make.

Because this whole thing is about pushing myself to keep improving.

WIP Saint Celestine

Well so far this is what I have to show you. I have precisely two more days to bring this all together. Realistically I have 9 working hours left in fact. I can't show yuo the cape at the moment because its even messier and worse blended than this is.

Company Strategy (Unsupported)

We have all noticed recently the amount of Codices and Army Books that are being released with Unit Options that don't have a model. Case in point the recent Beastmen release that had Cygors, Ghorgons, Razorgor Chariots, Jabberslythe, and a spattering of characters (which I'm less bothered about) without a model released for them in the initial release or prospect of one coming months after.

I think the last fully supported release I can remember is Lizardmen (copyright 2008) or possibly Imperial Guard (again copyright 2008), given that some items are available on forge world if you really want a Vendetta Squadron.

So by my count thats Skaven, Beastmen, Space Wolves, Tyranids that have been released without the ability to buy from Gamesworkshop all the Unit Options that are listed in their repective books. All these books are copywritten 2009 and released in '09 or '10, meaning something between 2008 and 2009 changed in the way Games Workshop went about publishing its product.

Firstly they are Unit Choices that have no models, but what ties all these Unit Choices beside that fact?

I'll list them:

i) Thunderwolf Cavalry (SW)
ii) Warp Grinder (s)
iii) Poison Wind Mortar (s)
iv) Doomflayer (s)
v)Plagueclaw Catapult (s)
vi) Hell Pit Abomination (s)
vii) Tyrannofex (T)
viii) Harpy (T) *available at Forge World
ix) Tervigon (T)
x)Sky-Slasher Swarm (T)
xi) Ghorgon (B)
xii)Cygor (B)
xiii) Jabberslythe (B)
xiv) Razorgor Chariot (B)

so 14 kits that GW does not supply, and you'd have to convert, and what links all of them? They are all larger then normal bases. A big sculpt that would be rarely bought. Even the Sky-Slasher Swarm (rippers with wings) requires a large diameter base.

These big items are not emerging from the Manufactorum at the moment, and its not something I blame GW for.

The recession is still biting and will for a couple of more years, I imagine. For most of us it is tougher leaving a recession than going into one, as we struggled through the deepest dip, interest rates are tiny and hardly reward what we have saved, as you leave interest rates increase again, costs go up as does inflation, but your wage doesn't match it, and now it is an environment worth saving in, if you have the funds spare any more. Anyway thats a whole other blog. Just take my word that leaving the recession (now till 2012 approxiamately) will be worse than 2007-2009 were.

The List above is full of luxury items in the hobby, Special, Rare and eccentric choices for the army in question, and with a low profit margin and therefore drawn out return. Something like the mould for plastic Space Marines probably makes the money back spent on original design, tooling, research amd production costs reletively quickly, and each new casting means you can count more of the retail price as profit. A profit that subsidises products that sell less well (as well as wages, costs, R&D, white dwarf, tournaments, movies, etc). Without really having any knowledge lets say it subsidises an Ogre Gorger (retail price £12) that remains on the shelf of some Hobby Shop for a year or more. I suggest that considerably fewer of these are sold every year than are sold plastic Tactical Squads. And this has to be the case so that the money from Space Marines can go on to subsidise the existence of Ogre Gorgers.

Increasing the amount of large, rare options that a space marine kit has to subsidise by 14 times (see list above) in one or two finacial years would be Economic Suicide!

The strategy it seems is to keep hooking the young kids who love to buy Space Marines and Orks and Land Raiders and generate a good revenue stream that can diverted into new releases of these extravagant and bulky models that are currently unsupported. The more that are bought the slightly more the percentage of each one sold can go towards supporting other kits, as the original costs R&D are being paid off. More people should start a Space Marine Army if you want a new Tomb Kings Army Book.

The only suggestion I would make is why include so many Bulky Beasts if this was going to be the strategy. Could someone not have tapped Andy Hoare and Phil Kelly on the shoulder and said, "These exciting new units you are putting in the book, Ghorgons? Cygors? Do you have to have them? Can't you leave Spawn in there? Or Dragon Ogres? Or Khorngors? No true. These are new and exciting, okay, but.... How about making them an expansion kit to a kit we already have? So Ghorgons are an additional kit to a Minataur, and Cygors an add on to a Giant. Much like Dark Angels get an adaptor kit, and Space wolfs just have".

The only reason I can think of is they would still not sell enough to merit it. Maybe in a year or two when something is released this is what they'll give us. An expansion kit for an already existing sculpt, and they are sat on the idea until a more advanageous market place exists. I do believe that in time they will release the models.

The books contain Art work for all the examples in my list for what the said Unit should look like. They have obviously done some work on them. And have given us some shape to convert towards.

But at the moment it is up to us to convert such units ourselves. An expensive and consuming option for you and me, but in its way rewarding and creative. That does not mean its ideal. It is rewarding and creative to get to work doing Parkour, but most times I'd rather drive.

Progress Report on Saint Celestine

Its going slowly.

The Cloak and Seraphim I am leaving seperate for now, so I have freedom of movement to paint a freehand design.

I didn't clip the base as it was too tricky and I don't have a suitable saw. I don't have the funds to buy one at the moment so it is staying as it is. I have put on a Flat Smooth surface for teh base though so I can make it a Temple floor. I guess if I put another bit of rubble on there it'll look like a derelict temple with the roof fallen in.

Any suggestions for colour schemes or designs?

Update on Sorcerer

I chipped his nose! damn.

I don't like the colour of the wings now. Might have to look at a colur wheel to see what would work.

Any suggestions?

You call that a Defiler?

This is a Defiler!

Using only parts from the Defiler kit, its an intimidating site seeing this monster stride towards your army. His Left Arm is fully moveable, and he detaches into 2 halfs at the hip for storage.

He is A Chaos Defiler with Extra Close Combat Weapon and Heavy Flamer (seen under its Right Arm). He will be a part of my Alpha Legion Army.

Works in Progress

So at the moment I have a competition deadline at the end of the month for a Saint Celestine, 40k witchhunters, at my local Games Workshop. At the moment she is undercoated black. I have a tiered coffee jar lid that i think will make a nice stand. I'm thinking of clipping the battlefield debris from her feet and have her floating on parchments, Blood Angels HQ's are, in a marble floored temple.

I guess one of the big factors in choosing between all the Saint Celestines will be the freehand on her cloak. I have to think of something to paint on it. And then practice it because my freehand ability is unconvincing. Being a Lancastrian I'm thinking of Red Roses and maybe intertwinning thorn. Or should I do fleur de lys?

I was thinking about red armour too.

Over the Easter Bank Holiday I am going to my brother's for a few games of 40k. My Alpha Legion versus his Dark Angels in what will hopefully be a three game campaign. I am working on a little surprise for him, in the form of a Chaos Sorceror. I have converted Sigvald the Magnificent with the hnd of a Dark Elf Sorceress, and the wings of a Dark Pegasus. If you haven't worked it out yet, thats a Chaos Sorceror with the Mark of Slaanesh, Wings, Force Sword and the beckoning finger which represents...Lash of Slaanesh. Move here Terminators, cluster like that, and BOOM! Defiler battlecannon. I know its become a 40k cliche for Chaos Space Marine Armies to have such a sorcerer but none of them will look like this.

Deathmaster Sknitch

Having taken this photo I have done a few touch ups, particularly that black splodge on the cloak.

I think the best blended bit of this model is his trousers. Boring but there you go.

Attempted NMM on the Weeping Blades trying for red shaded and green in the highlight to make them look deadly and magical. only the blade in front of the face seems realisitic and i was trying to copy reflections from a photo so that didn't work. I hated painting the green poison. I couldn't work our how to highlight it, i was just lost.

Pleased with his face.

"Mad" Marius Lietdorf on Daisy

Now this is just for me. He is my Empire Army General and was painted just for my own entertainment. I have to say the horse, Daisy, was the most fun miniature to paint I don't know, I really enjoyed it and most of what i tried worked.

All NMM, Gold Barding and sun, gold sword hilt, and a Runefang with a Purple tinge.

The face again looks really good but my favourite is the forkeg of Daisy. Its the best blending I've ever done.

I don't like the feathers. But he is Mad.

I have always had a thing for Averland. My Bloodbowl team when I was little were the Averland Knights. I have always liked the Mad Count. I set most of my Warhammer Roleplay Adventures in Averland. And my Empire Army has always been from Averland. So I was ecstatic when Games Workshop released this brilliant character figure for the Mad Count. He was not a profiled charcter in the book and the Runefang and Barded Warhorse are available on the plastic Empire General kit, so GW had no real reason to make this figure. But I'm overwhelmingly grateful they did. He oozes charisma.

On the table he fronts up the Yellow and Black Attack.

Big Boss on Giant Squig

This was January's Competition entry and gain it came second. I think the NMM on the sword ended up as a fail but before that dark splodge got on half way up it was looking good. I really struggle with horns and drawing lines on horns. I hate it, I can't do it.

The goblin skin, Green to yellow to bleached bone highlights, worked really well. The NMM on the leading leg is an A. The Squig looks sinewy and mean. The base is kind of a let down.

Tzeentch Lord

I painted this guy for a Regional Competition and he came second. I am fairly pleased with him, even if i wouldn't do an army in these colours. The thing that lost it for me I reckon was some stark layering particularly on the cloak where the gradient between layers was obvious. Also the Blue Flame beneath the leading boot doesn't work.

As always I was happy with the face.

Welcome

Hello, this is a blog about any topic I can think of that relates to my hobby, the products and world's of Games Workshop. It can be about what projects I am working on, models that I have painted, cool things I have seen and thought I'd share, my opinions about the hobby, games I have played, anything I can think of.

I have been in the hobby since I guess 1989, when I was 7. I went round to a friends house whose older brother had "Space Marine", what would later go on to be Epic. These were tiny scale lead miniatures and the weight of the Imperial Mole Mortar in my tiny palm was impressive. The site of the titans striding between cardboard sky scrapers was inspiring. The art of the box was engrossing. I was round that guys house almost everyday for the early years of my life absorbing all the information I could about the World's of Warhammer, fantasy and future.

That Christmas I got Space Crusade and now I owned a piece of the Universe that had consumed me. I have never looked back.

So thats where it began.

But what about the name of this site?

I have named it after mythical heretic of the 40k Universe, Cypher, the Fallen Angel. An unidientified Dark Angel rebel who has roamed the Universe for 10,000 years clad in antique armour and monk's robe, two master crafted pistols in his hands, hood covering his face, and a sword he has never ever drawn. Is he a currupting influence of Chaos? Is he a degenerate criminal? Is he the one man who knows the truth? Is he in fact saving mankind?

Thats for you to decide.

And that is one of the wonderful things about this hobby, you have so much scope to make your own decisions about all sorts of things. It is your hobby. You own it in so many more ways than you own any other game. You own it more than you own the most wide ranging Computer Game. It is your yours.

Treat it lovingly.