Blood Runs, Anger Rises, Death Wakes, War Calls!

The Avatar of Khaela Mensha Khaine, molten god of war and murder, the Bloody-Handed One, is not Khorne. But you can see where the entirely correct analysis mistake comes from:

Molten metal, cooled and cracking as it moves, charred from heat and fuelled by devotion, faith, and blood - the Avatar of Khaine's very footsteps char and burn the ground

The Bloody-Handed One's name is not hyperbole!

This is, of course, the result of me getting distracted and sidetracked by the Endless Spells and the Avatar of Khaine rather than working on the Melusai. I was fiddling around with army builders last night and discovered I have just under 1,500 points (1,480) of Daughters of Khaine at the moment, but that it will be quite hard to bring it up to 2,000 and keep within the Melusai theme without being very repetitive. I'd put Morathi in but she's over 700 points and that pushes the army to something like 2,200 which - again - isn't a particularly useful points value. And honestly the Melusai are a pain to paint the way I'm doing them. Anyway, to put off highlighting individual scales hundreds of times, I did this today as well:

The Iron Heart of Khaine, the result of prayers from priestess of Khaine

Blood oozes from it as it hovers above the battlefield

Tomorrow I'm planning to finish the last Endless Spell, the Bladewind, which shouldn't take too long, and then I can try again at mustering the willpower to paint Melusai. Who knows, maybe I'll come up with a way to spend 520 points and keep to the theme of "everyone's a snake lady*"!

Painting Points:
Today: 10
This Week: 10
2025: 132

Blood For Morathi!

I have a Daughters of Khaine army that I started a couple of years ago (maybe a bit longer) which is made up almost entirely of Melusai - I think it has one model in it that isn't a snake-lady, but I made the model one anyway to fit the theme. It has two units that weren't quite finished and I've just started having a go at finishing them off:

Blood Sisters who are going to be patterned after Red Eye Tree Snakes

There's also a unit of Blood Slaughterers I need to crack on with. I think I'm probably going to be slow for a little bit in terms of output as January was quite intense and the next few days are going to be a bit busy. But who knows! I'd like to keep up the pace if I can.

Misson: Complete

Or at least the little bit of it that I've been working on. I finished the Engineseer, and with her all the undercoated "new" Cadian Imperial Guard. I still have two Autocannon teams to do, but one of the gunners is missing a set of arms, so that'll have to wait until I not only have more undercoat spray, but also pick up another heavy weapons box and another box of infantry. That should provide just enough parts to enable me to have three Heavy Weapons squads (three rocket launchers, three autocannons, and three mortars) and fill out the rest of 3rd Squad. Perhaps I'll get back to the Paradisans later this year. For now though, pictures!

Techpriestess Engineseer with power axe and laspistol. I tried to paint her so she looks like an albino, with extremely white hair and pink eyes

I like that the axe doubles up as an adjustable spanner

Yes, that is an orange flashing light on her backpack, it's important to make people aware of your presence when you're working with heavy machinery

The cog pattern at the base of the coat was fun to do, but I decided against doing it on the sleeves as well

In terms of speed of production only one miniature today is going to bring the average down a bit but that doesn't matter - look at what I've done over the last couple of weeks!

With the exception of the Commissar, none of these figures were painted at the start of the year. I'm very pleased with this progress

The Commissar! This is the Severina Raine miniature GW released a while ago which I have turned into a generic Commissar to go with the Paradisans. The paint scheme is the same as all my other Commissars - green jacket, blue trousers, black greatcoat, red and blue cap

Tomorrow I'm going to the London anti-fascist counterdemonstration against the far-right Tommy Robinson and all his mob, so I'm unlikely to be going to doing any painting - I'll be too tired when I get back. I have, however, lined up the last ten Melusai that need finishing for my Daughters of Khaine army.

Painting Points:
Today: 1
This Week: 18
2025: 122

Beep Boop

Techpriests are an interesting addition to a primarily infantry-based force, but the Sentinels and - eventually - tanks that will be in support do need someone to be up at the sharp end ready to assuage the machine-spirits and weld things back together. So I have this one:

I converted this from a Skitarii Marshal miniature, a Techpriest miniature, and a variety of random spare parts. I'm not certain if I like the head, but I wanted her to look a bit more human than some other options. I might have a rummage in some bits boxes and see if I can find something a bit less human, but also... maybe not. 

I didn't get very much painting done today, but I think I'm in a good place to get the Techpriestess finished tomorrow. I've highlighted the coat, blocked in all the pipes and cables and undergarments, and now it's details and skin really. Just... a lot of details.

Future Magic...

...is sometimes just magic, you see.

Today I spent some time working on the Primaris Psyker and got her finished. I spent a lot more time highlighting her than I did any of the other Guard figures I've done  for the Paradisans (except the Commissar), so she's going to bring down my daily average a bit probably, but it's worth it.

I'm not totally happy with the little energy globes on the head-dress, but they look good in person

Brass is a good colour for contrasting with gold and blue

I wasn't entirely certain about the wires on the head, but I do like the way the silver looks!

All that's left now is the Techpriestess, so hopefully I'll get her done tomorrow and then I can move on to some other stuff, with a nice small 500-ish point 10th Edition Guard army done and ready to go.

Painting Points:
Today: 1
This Week: 17
2025: 121

Danger Close!

I have now finished the Field Ordnance Battery (Malleus MLRS system), and I'm really pleased with how they turned out! The green tunics - which I stole from Saxon artillery crews of the Franco-Prussian war - set them apart from the infantry of the Paradisan LXIX and I also changed the way I painted the picklehaubes, too, replacing the gold regimental crest for a silver one. I also opted not to repair the broken spike on one of the gun crew, reasoning that in real life they detach and get lost. Should I decide to fix it later it won't be a difficult job either honestly.

Blue Battery, Red Section, Black Battalion, Paradisan MCCCXXXVII Artillery Regiment - guns 3 (left) and 4 (right)

You can see here how, unlike the infantry, the body armour lacks pauldrons and gloves are worn by most of the crew

Gun 3 is commanded by a corporal, while gun 4 has the section commander, a Sergeant, in charge

The ammunition crates are marked 80MM, denoting the size of each projectile

With these done, all that's left of this particular force is the Primaris Psyker and Techpriest, so once I've go those done I'll be rummaging around in the ol' Pile of Opportunity for the next set of things to work through. I'm probably going to try and finish my Daughters of Khaine Melusai because my son, T, has asked to have a game of Age of Sigmar at some point - he's been working on Chaos Warriors.

Painting Points:
Today: 10
This Week: 16
2025: 120

Guns Up!

It didn't take me long in the end but, as always, I have noticed I missed a bit after I took the photos...

I think, technically, for this to be a "legal" squad they should all have the same weapons. But hey!

I really like these rocket launchers, they look much more realistic than some of the other ones

Can you see what detail I missed? What didn't get the Agrax Earthshade wash it needed?

I think the autocannon would probably be better off with a wheeled carriage, but then again advanced material science might mean that it weighs enough that it can be carried short distances by two people

I've started to work on the MLRS systems too, but haven't got much further than highlighting the weapons and the ammunition boxes. I did manage to break the spike off the helmet on one of the gun crew though, which is extremely annoying! 

Tomorrow is quite busy and Wednesday even busier so I don't know what - if anything - I'll get finished in the next few days, but I am very close to finishing all the Guard stuff I have in this particular batch. I have the MLRS half-battery, the Psyker and the Techpriest to do and I'd like to get them sorted this week.

Painting Points:
Today: 6
This Week: 6
2025: 110

Slowing The Pace

Well, today turned out to be a day where I just didn't paint as fast as I have been for a while, and that's ok. I washed everything with Nuln Oil and then got most of the way towards finishing the Heavy Weapons Teams. I need to highlight the gold, do the facings, skin, and touch-ups and then I can base them and they'll be done.

I'm running low on the scatter - model railway ballast I think it is - that I've been using so I might have to try and find some more soon. I'm skeptical that I'll have enough to finish the minis I have waiting around honestly!

All being well these teams should be done tomorrow, and hopefully the little MLRS systems will be done Tuesday or Wednesday.

What Happened To The Photos?

 You may have noticed that there weren't any photos yesterday - and none today, either. This is because my PC is playing damn silly buggers and I don't know quite how to fix it yet. Probably going to have to clean reinstall Windows. Urgh.

In more entertaining news, I have started work on the heavy weapons teams that were once integrated into Red Platoon, and the two MLRS platforms. I decided to model the MLRS crews off Saxon artillery uniforms from the Franco-Prussian War, with green tunics and grey trousers. After all, they look to me like they could - should - be attached from an Artillery Regiment rather than be integral to an Infantry Regiment. Two is a half battery, so I expect at some point I'll get another two. And part of me keeps jumping up and down suggesting Tauroxes to pull them much like the Morris C8 'Quad' did the British army's 25pdr field guns... so who knows what that'll end up looking like.

In the meantime I've got everything to the point where I'm about to slap a bunch of Nuln Oil across them, so I guess about half done. Might be able to get them done tomorrow, might not, it depends how much time I dedicate to painting.

Hopefully I'll have photos back soon, too. SUCCESS

After merely re-installing Windows and setting all my preferences back up, I can save photos and upload them here again. This is where I've got to so far with the towed MLRS systems and the infantry heavy weapons. I imagine that the MLRS crews set everything up then fire from a distance, as the tubes, um, don't have a safety plate behind them so even if they cold launch there'll be one hell of a backblast!

What's A Bit Of Anachronism Among Friends

The button-counters might be irritated by the mish-mash of Prussian and Imperial German uniforms and paint schemes, but this is 40K! Today I spent a lot of time painting and managed to paint the Sentinel from undercoat to finished as well as doing the understrength 3rd Squad and the officer commanding Blue Platoon (which doesn't yet exist).  

This was originally the Minka Lesk figure from Games Workshop, but I gave her a headswap and a new left arm, turning her into a Lieutenant for my army. As is traditional after taking the photo I noticed I'd missed the rank pips on her collar

This gives you a nice view of her fancy scabbard and very plain backplate

3 Squad, Red Platoon (well, most of them - they're missing four troopers) and Blue Platoon's LT all together

The drum-mag on the autogun is a nice touch, and with 41st Millenium tech it probably contains some ridiculous number of caseless rounds

A nice shot of all the backpacks and tunics from the rear

With the Sentinel, I ended up deciding to riff on the WW1 German Buntfarben-Anstrich scheme. It's similar (but different) to the scheme I applied to the Leman Russ I did a couple of years ago, and painted up nice and easily with some heavy stippling using an otherwise pretty dead brush.

I'd ummed and ahhed over how to set this up, and then decided the armoured option was a) less work to paint and b) looked cooler. The lascannon is a handy bit of anti-tank punch too!

The freehanded '1' on each side was a bit annoying, I had to trim both sides to get them looking vaguely equal

The business end - I like the effect of gloss varnish on black for the vision blocks, while you can see the nice finish the stippling gave the camouflage, too

I kept weathering to a minimum, just a little bit of metallic drybrushing across areas that might be chipped and damaged in use

 Phew! Photos at last!

Painting Points:
Today: 12
This Week: 27
2025: 104

"Armour, 100 Metres, 4 o' Clock!"

Well, it took a bit longer than I'd hoped, but I got 2 Squad, Red Platoon done. This bunch have a meltagun to give them some anti-tank punch, and are otherwise a standard infantry unit. 10 troopers, armed mostly with lasrifles. 

The whole squad. I posed this one as if they've just taken a position, with half the squad still running up

The Sergeant and meltagunner plus the rest of the front rank

Spades - these aren't particularly useful where they are but it's a nice touch on the sculpts I think

Vox-operator (centre) and four troopers

From the rear you can see the strange extra bits some of them have on their backpacks - a coiled spring, for example!

I have an under-strength squad to do, but I might take a break from basic troopers now I have a minimum size platoon done (two squads of 10 and a command squad) and do something interesting like the Sentinel, or perhaps one of the MLRS systems. And of course I have the Psyker and Techpriest on the go.

Painting Points:
Today: 10
This Week: 15
2025: 92

Two Thirds Done Is Still Not Done

Today I spent most of my hobby time working on the second squad for Red Platoon; a group of ten with a meltagunner in it. Again, as with the first squad, it was supposed to have a rocket launcher in it, but that's no longer allowed if you want to play official GW approved 10th Edition 40K.

You can also see in the background of the photo the Techpriest and Primaris Psyker, too. I was hoping to get the infantry squad done today, but I just couldn't quite do it. I still need to do the gold details, wash the rifle furniture, tidy up some of the bedrolls, do the frag grenades, touch up some metal areas, do the facings, and then the skin.

Hopefully tomorrow.

Platoon, Platoon - March!

Yesterday I didn't really do anything; I started working on the Techpriest and Primaris Psyker but essentially only put down a couple of colours. Today, however, I knuckled down and cranked out Red Platoon's Command Squad, who are wearing slightly fancier tunics than the basic infantry troopers:

L-R: Grenadier, vox-specialist, Lieutenant, medic, platoon Sergeant with grenade launcher

The Lieutenant's plume is yellow (for Yellow Company) and red (for Red Platoon). From this angle you can see the shoulder insignia of the specialists

The facings are quite apparent from this angle, as are the very varied backpacks

I like the poses I managed to get, although I think the Lieutenant might have been better seved with her pistol pointing down at the ground in a slightly more passive, observing mode

Of course after I finished taking all the photos I realised I'd not highlighted the Lieutenant's frag grenade, so I did that quickly and now they're done. I've popped the second squad from Red Platoon on the painting desk alongside the Psyker and Techpriest and aim to get them sorted in the next day or two.

The army - well, small force - as it currently stands consists of:

1 officer with command squad
1 officer
1 Commissar
1 Primaris Psyker
1 Techpriest
10-strong Stormtrooper squad with volley and plasma guns and Sergeant
10-strong infantry squad with flamer and Sergeant
10-strong infantry squad with melta and Sergeant
6-strong infantry squad with plasma gun and Sergeant (this needs another four troopers)

2 MLRS giant nebelwerfer type things

1 Sentinel

2 Rocket launcher teams (not quite a heavy weapons squad - needs another rocket launcher team!)
3 Autocannon teams (one of which needs another set of gunner's arms for some reason)

Eventually I'm aiming for two platoons, each three squads of 10 with a 5-strong command squad, the company command squad, the Stormtrooper squad, a Sentinel troop, and probably some other bits and pieces. Probably a heavy weapons platoon (mortars, rocket launchers, autocannons) as well.

Anyway that's all for the - distant - future. For now, I have Guardswomen to paint!

Painting Points:
Today: 5
This Week: 5
2025: 82

First Squad - Advance!

I spent quite a while today painting and managed to get the first infantry squad sorted for the Paradisan LXIX. They look quite dapper actually, in their blue and grey, with the rose pink facings and the shiny pickelhaubes. What's interesting is that they have at least three different pattern of lasrifle - there's one with a wire folding stock, one with iron sights, and one with what looks like an optic or red dot sight. It makes them look slightly less uniform, which is a curious design choice. I like it, but it is a change from the previous plastic Cadian range, which had a total of two different lasrifle patterns - folding stock or fixed stock!

Front rank - flame-trooper and Sergeant

You can see the funky colours of the Sergeant's rank chevrons leap out which is cool

I only noticed after I started painting but the vox-operator's coat cuffs are different. The right hand one is slim and the left hand one is turned back! I'd have changed it if I'd noticed before I got the paint on...

I like the mug hanging off the right-hand trooper's webbing

1st Squad, Red Platoon, Yellow Company, White Battalion, Paradisan LXIX Infantry Regiment

I'm not sure if I want to do another squad of troopers, or a platoon command section, or something different altogether. Will have to rummage in the box of Guard troopers!

Painting Points:
Today: 10
This Week: 23
2025: 77

The Backbone Of The Imperium

The key component of any Imperial Guard army is the grunt, the footsoldier, the infantry trooper. They might ride in a vehicle or march everywhere, they might be numbered clone-soldiers or tribal levies, but whatever they look like and however they get to battle, they carry a lasrifle and die for the Emperor.

The Paradisan Guard are no different, but they like to think they are...

The heads are from Anvil Industries (as are the ones on the Stormtroopers), but the rest of the models are just the current Cadian Shock Troops. 

I had to bring three of them up to the same point as the rest of the squad, but now I'm at the post-Nuln Oil wash stage where I'm highlighting things. After I've done that, it'll be time to do all the black bits - leather webbing, boots, backpacks - before doing the details, wooden rifle furniture, skin, and so on.

Hopefully I'll be able to get them done tomorrow! I'll just have to see how much painting I get done really.