Back To Business

I got back today from an extended weekend in Boston- an excellent trip with fun had by all.  Consequently I didn't get any work done while away, but I did get a good amount of work done on the new Emperor's Champion this evening.  I've finished the pre-wash bone and black armor parts.  I've got to paint all of the red tomorrow and then clean up the places that I messed up.  The contrast is pretty high on the model.  I went from fairly dark colors (dark brown and black) to pretty light colors (ivory and a lighter grey).  The depth that it appears to give is cool.   I feel like a lot of my miniatures remind me of El Greco paintings when they are done.

El Greco.  The Burial of Count Orgaz.

El Greco.  St. John the Evangelist.

I also got my shipment of additional bits and some Krylon Fusion flat black spray paint.  I picked up some cheap auctions and a whole Dreadknight (well, nearly whole) for easily 40% off.  This means that I can respray the models I stripped last week and add some additional bits to them that I wanted to add in the first place. 

I'll have some pictures of the new guy tomorrow- hopefully completed!

Out With the Old, In With the New

Here's some pictures of my old Emperor's Champion.  This guy was painted somewhere in the middle of high school.  He's the only example of previous work I have- I scrubbed the paint off all of the rest of my old minis.

I've started on a new champion though.  I saw the Maugan Ra model and I just had to use it (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1060044).  I love the look of the armor made of bones.  I've removed all of the gems, cut away the lines on the top of his head, and gave him a marine backpack and weapons.  He's coming out pretty good so far, but some of the paint isn't sticking too well to the sharper points of the metal.

My work space and the new Championed primed and ready to paint.

Finished Paint Removal and New CSM Codex?

I finished up removing the paint from my models and it worked really well.  As you can see in the picture, almost all of the paint is gone.  The only specks left are in the tight spaces where the brush couldn't reach or where the bristles were too large.

The bits after removal.

GW posted a new video on their Youtube channel.  Maybe it's a teaser for a new CSM Codex?  It could also be new psychic powers, but I'm leaning towards Codex with all the rumors flying around.

Removing Paint from Models

I think my sign really got the message across.

I picked up some Super Clean today from the local Napa Auto Parts.  It's a great chemical for removing paint from models, which I have to do because I messed up the priming (curses humidity, curses).  You let it soak for 12 hours and then take a tooth brush to the models.  Make sure to wear gloves and rinse the models after you brush them off.  Hopefully the next spray session will go better!

Crusade Update: Priming Gone Wrong

I'm off to a good start (sarcasm)!  I tried to prime my first batch of terminators when it was too humid out.  They have a nice chalky / grainy finish now- fantastic!  I'm going to attempt to remove some of that paint and then respray them.  Lesson learned: just wait a day to spray your miniatures.

First Things First

So I figured I'd actually post something on my new blog- what a novel idea right?


A little intro is in order.  I love Black Templars.  I think the art design and the character of the chapter are fantastic.  I was introduced to 40k in middle school.  We were terrible painters and didn't know how to play the game.  We came back to it in high school when a LGS went belly up and sold everything for super cheap.  I painted a little better then and still have my Emperor's Champion that I did. 

I've always been a little into art- took some classes in middle and high school- never that serious though.  Each time we'd have a project, I'd always want to make it my own somehow- make it cool.  I feel like that is what this army project is about (which I'll go over in a future post)- making a more unique Black Templars army. 

The Damned Crusade is not only the name of the blog, but the name of the army as well.  They are a band of crusaders who embark into one of the lesser known regions of the galaxy- the Ghoul Stars.  It's a tale of a tale of a little known- some might say secretive- crusade that stumbles upon some ancient artifacts of great power.  Some say the power is derived from the Immortal Emperor himself; others in the crusade believe it to be something ruinous, perhaps even Chaotic.  Tensions rise as the effects of the artifacts manifest themselves- will this crusade see a righteous end or one that spirals into madness and despair?  What will the inevitable legend of the Damned Crusade be- a cautionary note of wrestling with powers beyond your comprehension or an epic about zeal, triumph, and ghastly happenings not too different from a Legion of a similar name?

To be continued...