Third Company

Good evening one and all!

First of all I would like to apologise for my lack of updates and posts.

At the moment myself and the good lady are trying to sell our house, so everything is tidied away to make the place lookmore spacious. Consequently, this means my semi-permanant painting set up is out of the way and I haven’t had time nor space to get anything done.

My desktop computer has also had a meltdown on a par with Three Mile Island, and I am using a laptop that wouldn’t look out of place in the 1940’s.

This has had a two fold effect though. The first is that my online social life has taken a massive hit. The second (and this is a huge positive) is that the good lady has given me the green light to start saving for an Alienware laptop. (telling her it’ll save some much needed space was the clincher 😉 )
I will however be looking at unboxing videos on YouTube for the next 3 months until I can actually afford to place an order though!

Anyway, on with tonight’s update.

This is my Forgeworld Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought.
It is a sizable beast, and an expensive one too, weighing in at around £46 with weapons included, so slightly more than your normal dreadnought, and with good reason.

This is a BEAUTIFUL kit, and I say that without reservation.
The resin is cast perfectly, the details crisp, and the nearly every joint is poseable.

I took the extra step of magnesising the arm joints aswell, so that I can interchange the weapons at will.

I did note a minor miscast though with my first close combat weapon, with a blob of resin blocking all the detail on the storm bolter magazine. Forgeworld were as brilliant as ever and when I asked for a new storm bolter part, they sent a whole new close combat weapon! £18 of resin for the tinist part….now that is customer service.

I painted this in the same way as all my miniatures, but I found the scheme from an old Golden Demon winner.
I appreciate it’s a virtual copy, but I wanted to add my own slant to it, so I envisaged the dreadnought running across a battlefield littered with decaying wargear.
The lump of metal he’s about to jump over is the rear tracks of an old Leman Russ I painted 14 years ago and found in my mother’s loft.

As with the blue, a lot of people ask how I paint the dirty metal. I start with a base of Leadbelcher followed by a liberal wash of Nuln Oil and Agrax Eathshade in a 50:50 blend.
I then edge highlight with Ironbreaker, and drybrush “interest” areas with Necron Compound.

Finally, one last parting shot with the twin Khere’s Assault Cannon.
For those that play 40k, this is truely a devestating load out in game.
They aren’t twin linked, that is 2 x Assault Cannons, with 6 shots each! 12 x Str 6 AP 3 Rending shots 😉

As always, comments and criticisms are more than welcome. I hope you all still like reading about my army and journey, and I’ll try and keep the updates a bit more regular.

Guy (@officialquiff)

Hello again.

I’m going to start this post with a brief run down of how I like to paint my “blue”.
A lot of people ask me how I get it to look so even and flat.
Well, I shall dispense this knowledge….now.

Firstly, I undercoat the model with Chaos Black spray. This is normally warmed up in the airing cupboard for a few hours. Strange as it sounds, but this atomises the paint in the can, and expands the propellant enough to allow a really smooth paint job with little to no “spatter”.

Secondly, I base the entire model in a 50:50 blend of water and Macragge Blue, trying to avoid the major armour joins and eyes etc, and leaving black in the shadows.

Thirdly, I wash the model with Drakenhoff Nightshade to darken the panel lines and around the details.

Then I layer on Altdorf Guard Blue over the armour plates, again using a 50:50 blend with water, and again leaving wash and the base coat in the shadows.

The, strangly, I drybrush the whole model with a very VERY dry brush of Altdorf Guard Blue, building up layer by layer until the top coat is nice and even. This servces two purposes. One is to even out the paint, and the other is to make a more gentle transition between the top layer and shadows.

Finally, I go over the panel lines and around rivets etc with Nuln Oil if the shadows need more definition.

And there you have it!

Right, on with todays models.

These are my Terminators. I HATED painting them until the base coat was done. The leg bracing is the single biggest pain in the backside.
However, once that was done they were an absolute joy!
I used the Forgeworld resin shoulder pads on the left hand side, but I didn’t like the casting on the Crux Terminatus so used the plastic ones that came with the kit.
I also used the Forgeworld etched brass on the banner (As I did on the tactical squad) to make it look unique.

In terms of painting, I wanted them to look “old school”.
I don’t like the blue and white monochrome scheme that the studio use, and I wanted to inject some colour whilst still making them look darker than the good old neon blue days.
I used a subdued red on the guns, and painted the Crux Terminatus in a bone colour as they used to be.
The assault cannon was the biggest problem, as I struggled to find any reference to how the old studio models were painted, however, I luckily found a White Dwarf from 1999 that had a picture in. All I had to do was adapt the scheme to my colours.

Anyway, I present Terminator Squad VII led by Ardias Davion.

I can’t recomment Forgeworld products enough. I have the resin shoulder pads and etched brass, but also the Ultramarines decals which I intend to use to differentiate between tactical squads.
Their Imperial Armour Model Masterclass books are an abolute must for any model builder, not just Games Workshop hobbyists.

I hope you are all enjoying reading about my progress, but any thoughts or criticisms are welcome, please leave a rpely or contact me via Twitter @officialquiff.

Thanks, Guy.

Today’s blog entry is all about the expansion of my army, however, that will come on a second post today, as I also have some more thoughtful rubbish to plaster on the internet.

I have told a white lie of sorts in my early posts, the Ultramarines were not my first foray back into the world of Games Workshop.
That was a Leman Russ battle tank, that I was going to use to start a Death Korp of Kreig army.
I had bought the Imperial Armour Modelling Masterclass books and did (I thought) an admirable job on the painting and weathering. However, something wasn’t “attracting” me to collecting the army like I thought it would.

I’ve seen people playing with just an undercoated army that they have built using an internet list of death.
They have no care for their army other than the fact that it is good at winning games.
My view is, that you should enjoy the army you collect as well as be inspired to paint it to a reasonable standard.
Sympathise with it’s quirks, immerse yourself in its background, and relish in the losses.
If you dont enjoy painting the models, or find it tedious, then perhaps it’s time to re-think your choices.

Another good way to form a bond with your chosen army is to write backgrounds for your charachters or name your squads.

I started doing this by looking up a list of all known Ultramarines, and where one was featured but didn’t have a first name….I made one up!
Google is your best friend, and a quick search of Roman and Greek names quickly had all of my Sergeants and Charachters (Even the Dreadnoughts) named correctly to published lore.

Im still working on the background, but Tactical Squad III lead by Sergeant Tiberius Ixion has saved the day more times that I know.

Im not saying that having a tournament winning army is a bad thing, but this is a multi-facetted hobby, and we should try and embrace all aspects of collecting, modelling, painting and gaming…..but most impotantly have fun doing it.

That is all for now, I’ll post some more army progression pictures up soon.

Until next time. Guy.

I did promise not that long ago to post some actual pictures of my army, and today is as good a day as any….mainly because I had my SLR fully charged and was not at work….and I’d finished my Dreadnought finally, so decided to do the whole army in one “photoshoot”.

Firstly though, I’d like to explain a little about my army.

Obviously, I’ve chosen the Justin Beiber’s of the Space Marine world.
I decided on Ultramarines mainly because I like their history and background.
I like their Greco-Roman design and heraldry, and I love the fact they managed to colonise an entirely self sufficient empire all of their own.

However, I collected my first army of Ultramarines in the heady day-glow colour schemes of the early to mid 90’s before everything got Grim Dark.

I’ve always been one to paint whatever is on the box cover, however, I’ve not liked the studio Ultramarines for a while, hence I decided to go rogue and do it my own way.

The new (Well, new to me anyway!) Terminators are a prime example.
All of the old Terminators featured a Crux Terminatus painted in bone colours, yet the new studio models feature a stone/marble colour. Similarly, all of the skulls, Aquilla, and Ultramarines symbols are white leaving a bland blue and white model.
Thats why I wanted to bring a bit more colour to the Grim Dark Future, whilst still toning down the crazyness.

I will post photos in the order in which I painted them and hopefully you should be able to see some progression.

This is the first tactical squad I had painted in nearly 14 years.
I hope you enjoy.

Thanks, Guy.

(Click to enlarge)

This may seem like an odd thing to say, but I’ve been meaning to write about why I like playing wargames so much.

Aside from being interested in all things scientific since an early age, and having a very vivid and artistic imagination, there is another side to wargaming few ever think about.

I forget where I read it (I believe it may have been another blog), but many service men and women in the US armed forces are active players of wargaming systems such as those provided by Games Workshop.

Some of this is down to the tactical mind of the soldier, but I firmly believe people play wargames to relieve stress without even realising it.

As I said in my first post, I am a police officer. I have a stressful job, as does every other police officer, fire fighter, paramedic etc etc.
I have seen people deal with stress in negative ways. I have known people develop an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and have aggressive mood swings, which ultimately impacts on their job.
The ability to deal with what causes the stress is an important thing.

I myself have been subject to handling stress badly following a very distressing death and the subsequent investigation.

Since I have started collecting miniatures again I have had no issues, and my better half has noticed I rarely great stressed at all.
The ability to return home from work, pick up a brush and let all the worries of the day float away while I paint is a relieving feeling.

Having a supportive gaming group is also vital, I regularly talk to them about my job. I’ve discovered that they are more than just a gaming group, but a support as well.

Of course, other people have other hobbies, sports, music etc, but for me, I find nothing more relaxing that throwing on some music, grabbing my latest project, and laying down some paint!

Sorry this has all gone a bit deep, but I promise next time I will have some photos of my army thus far 😉

Until next time. Guy.

So you’ve landed on my blog page wondering what on earth this amateurish effort is all about?!

Well, I am a 30 year old nerd of the highest proportions, living and working the East Midlands (UK). I love computer games and designing them, playing console games, building model kits, and making my own digital art works. Oh, and I’m a HUGE Sci Fi fan!

Naturally when I was a child, this manifested itself when a friend introducing me to a tiny 28mm tall plastic man with large shoulders, a triangle mouth and a massive gun. He was bright orange/red and he was a “Blood Angel” or so I was informed.
This was the early nighties, and my friend had just introduced me to Warhammer 40,000.
I was hooked!

The following years saw me collect a few token Blood Angels Space Marines, with which I played games using tape cassette boxes as hills, and shoe boxes as buildings.

It wasn’t until around 1998, that a page in the local paper was to engrain my love for all things 40k forever.
The page was an advert for temporary staff to work in the warehouse of Games Workshop’s coveted headquarters in Nottingham.

I got the job.

Working from 6am until 2pm, my primary task was to fill boxes full of miniatures and ship them to Games Workshop stores around the UK and Europe (I apologise now for the Norwegian branches if they never received anything, but their addresses are so so long!)

That was not the best part, that was having an on site cafe and a whopping 50% staff discount! I quickly amassed a large Army of Ultramarines and the hobby had firmly taken hold.

As with all good things however, they come to an end. With the advent of university, the discovery of a tolerance to alcohol, and dubious relationships, the hobby slid by the wayside until it was forgotten.
I started work as a full time police officer following university, and actually gave my Ultramarines to a new home….for nothing!

It wasn’t until 2011, and a trip to the Duxford air show, that I started to think about Warhammer 40,000 again. I picked up a small Airfix Spitfire, but the brushes were awful.
I decided to take a trip with the better half to Warhammer World to pick up some Citadel brushes.
Walking through the doors for the first time in nearly 13 years was like meeting with an old friend. The clientele were a LOT younger than I, but I saw some similarly aged and like minded people and got to talking about their armies.

Buying new brushes quickly developed into a starter game, then collecting a few models ‘for the shelf’ which has naturally resulted in the start of a new army.

I have made new friends, and the member of staff who showed me my first game again holds a regular gaming club which I am an active member.
I am still learning, but it’s sinking in.

I am going to chart my return via this blog and twitter, and hopefully inspire someone else to take up those paintbrushes and plastic clippers all over again.

Guy.