FMC list got some new UFO's

Hey all, welcome back to Scratchbuilt 40k!  I know things have been a little lean here lately, but that's not to say I haven't been doing anything hobby related.

Over the last two months I've been sprucing up the brain-horrors of Tzeentch to ensure they are up to snuff with the rest of the models and have even decided to find a way to duplicate the UFO I built to act as Fateweaver.  I figure 5 total would be enough to round out the list.

This here is what the piece looked like before tearing it apart and casting pieces in a rubber mold.

I'm not a big fan of the underslung weapon, especially since there is just one of them.  I also didn't like there was nothing in the bubble with the horror brain, made it look sorta thrown in there with no forethought.

This is what I have so far after duplication.

Only one of the UFO's has weapons so far and the bubble cockpits aren't glued into place yet.  I still have to paint the inside of the cockpit and add weapons to them.  I'm hoping to create weapons which look different for each UFO so I can differentiate them on data sheets to prevent confusion for my opponents during games.

So yeah, not a whole lot new here, just 5 all new flying monstrous creatures to add to my army :)

Not dead yet!

Hello fellow game enthusiasts and scratch builders!  I know it's been almost a month since I've written a post, but I wanted to let you all know I haven't stopped hobbying and I do plan to update the blog very soon.

I could come up with dozens of excuses to explain away why I haven't updated, but who really cares about all that?  If you answered "No one", you're spot on.

So, sometime this week I'll have a real post with pictures on what I've been doing the last month.  It isn't a whole lot, but I think in three or four days I'll have something to show which can make up for the lack of progress.  Keep your eyes peeled and I hope it lives up to my expectations!

Heldrake in black, base finished

Well, now we're getting somewhere, aren't we!  Welcome back everyone to SB40k and my continuing journey to complete just one Heldrake I converted from a Soul Grinder's legs and building materials.

I don't have a lot to show, really, but it is starting to at least look impressive.  I've been able to get some work done on the base and even set up the black base coat.  Lets get right to it, shall we?

I really should have worked on the lighting and diffused the light from the top, but for our purposes this should work fine.  Overall I'm happy with how the top of the vehicle looks, almost spine-like in nature but not so much it looks unrealistic.

The base turned out great, though.  Really happy with how the water effects looks on the base and even tried out mixing green permanent ink and it hasn't hurt the water effects.  This gives me hope for the red ink I plan to use for the bloody water on the Horror models and was a fairly safe test.

Anyways, hope you like how it's going so far and I'll try to have something for next week.  Till then, happy building!

Time for Heldrake Engines

It's that time again, scratch build fans!  Time to give a small update on the progress I've made on those Heldrakes, focusing on the engines I've put together.

I opted for a simple design, hexagonal in nature.  I decided not to worry about making sure each of the angles was the same, but made each side the same length.  In this instance the engines are wider than they are tall.

The most difficult decision was deciding how to proceed after making this piece.  I ultimately chose to use the ridged caps from my Alumilite resin bottles.  They have a great stepped ridge in a circular pattern, perfect for the exhaust portion of the engine.

So far, the heldrake is looking pretty good.  I'm not sold on the top, though.  I may tear it apart and try to fix the upper portion, perhaps try to make it look more like a spine and less like pieces added to the top.

Heldrake Gains a Tail

Hey all, welcome back!  Today I'll be continuing to share the progress on my Heldrakes.  We've all seen the, ahem, 'rear hole', on the official model, and I really wanted to avoid that look.  After I took pictures a couple weeks ago, I realized the model needed something at the back in order to balance out the model.

Additionally, I needed a way to incorporate the Baleflamer into the model, and putting it in the front like the official model wasn't going to work for me.  This is what I came up with.

As you can probably tell, I used a copy of the upper leg piece, modified with circular pieces made from plasticard and duplicated, to create the segmented tail.  I then made my own tail shields using plasticard and duplicating each side separately, gluing them together at the angle I needed.  I finished it off with a cylinder with holes drilled.

What I still need to do is make the flame piece to extend past the tail, detail the wings, and create the engines which will rest under the rear wings and extend out slightly.

Overall I'm quite pleased with how things are turning out so far, but there still feels like a ton of work to do before these are ready to be primed and painted!

Making Soul Grinders Heldrakes

Hey all, going to keep things fairly short and just share what I've been working on.  Not long ago I finished (mostly) the Tzeentch Daemon army I had been putting together and felt it might be neat to put the finishing touches on the Chaos Space Marine army I had wanted to put together.

Regular readers might remember the Land Raiders I put together using plastic signs, copper tubes, and cardstock (that styrofoam sandwiched between paper).  Well, what I really wanted was a couple Heldrakes to go along with those Land Raiders.  I finally had the desire to start working on them.

Well, this is what I have so far.  This is only the first one and I have another set of wings to put together for the second.  What I would like to do yet is add some detail to the wings yet and create some enginesto be placed on either side of the larger wings, nestled up close to the body.

Anyways, it's getting there!

Two steps forward, one step back

Hey all, welcome back to SB40k.  Been a while since I've updated, so I thought I'd at the very least share the un-progress I've made in the last three weeks, starting with the UFO Lord of Change.  After watching the 11th Company live streaming of the Nova Open, I was inspired to do more with the army and this model in particular.

Sure is a mess, isn't it?  You may remember it being an actual space ship with one gun, all put together and domed.  Well, that wasn't good enough for me anymore and I felt it was high time I make it so it could be easily duplicated so I can have Lords of Change and Daemon Princes of Tzeentch should I choose.

This required I first remove the dome at the top, cutting carefully along the edge.  I then removed the brain glued inside and carefully took off the gun you see at the bottom right of the picture above.  The plan is to have multiple guns on each shit, not just the one underslung like before.

I also created a sort of seat for the brain in the cockpit so it can be similar to the tentacles I have on the brain horrors.  When I'm done adding everything I want to this, I'm going to cast each side in rubber molding and duplicate to my hearts content.  Right now this feels like it should be super easy

My other obsession has been the idea of collapse-able terrain.  This is what I have so far, a hut without a roof.  Yeah, I know, not impressive.

What I'd hoped to do with it was make terrain which wouldn't be in my way.  I admit, it folds up easy, but with the paper on the back of the styrofoam it curls and looks sorta funny.  This is very frustrating, and from now on I'll just peel the paper from both sides and save myself some aggravation.

This base is to basically hold the walls in place.

And here are my walls.  Overall they look decent enough and if I find time I'll do more with it to fix what I am unhappy with.

On the Horror front, I've found a resin I like which shouldn't be too expensive and will harden clear and properly.  Now to see if it will look good with red ink mixed in to give it the murky blood look!

Wish me luck, and good luck with your own scratch build/painting projects.

Ninety Nine Horrors (But GW Ain't One)

Welcome back to SB40k all.  You might recall that over the last month or so I've been hard at work trying to get my brain horror squads ready for the table top.  I figure now is a good time to show what I have accomplished and mention just how much I have to do yet before I am ready with everything I have planned for the army.

First up, a unit of 9 Horrors, 1 Iridescent Horror, and a Herald of Tzeentch.

As you can see, the unit is looking pretty slick.  I still have some things I'd like to do, such as create depth using a clear 2 part resin with red mixed in and adding some sort of vegetation to the mix.  The Iridescent Horror turned out much better than I hoped, mixing colors all over the place to create a shifting feel to the models.  One final thing I had considered doing was mixing some glitter with a glaze and adding it to the Iridescent Horrors for a sparkle effect.  Still not sure on that, though!

And finally, an image of everything which is done thus far.

Model in the back is my Lord of Change/Fateweaver, a UFO piloted by a brain.  There are (supposedly) 99 Brains on there, and I would have separated them into units but it would have just taken way too long to sort them out!

Hopefully next week the Screamers will be finished and ready to be shared, as well as the Brain Horror on a disc (riding a screamer).  Till next time, happy gaming!

Scratch Built Horrors All Painted Up

Welcome back to SB40k one and all.  I've made some huge strides in my progress this week, completing the painting portion of the Brain/Horrors of Tzeentch.  Ninety Horrors now sit happily within their protective foam, awaiting the next step in the modeling process- basing.

This is ten of the bunch completed so far.  I've been unsure how to continue with the Iridescent Horrors which will accompany these units, and while I'm not 100% sure the process I have in mind will work, it's going to be fun to try!

So to tally what I've completed so far for Daemons, I have 90 completed Horrors, a brain piloting a spaceship to act as a Lord of Change or Fateweaver, a winged Nurgle Prince, 6 blight drones (which I could use as Daemon Princes or Plague Drones if I chose), 16 Flesh Hounds of Khorne, 18 Screamers of Tzeentch, all scratch built.

Progress can seem slow, but as of now I can easily build a 1850 to 2k.  Hopefully soon I'll have more options available to me to help modify my lists as I see fit.

Unfortunately, I am a little stuck with the Horrors now.  What I want to do is create a bloody water effect for around the bases of the green rocks (hence the raised edges on the bases).  I've used Woodland Scenics Water Effects in the past but that has been a bit disappointing.  The effects doesn't cure properly and remains soft.  If the pieces sit on their side the water effect eventually gets outside of the piece or bubbles up, looking silly in the process.

What I think will work better is a clear resin with a red coloring added.  It has to be clear-ish so the effects underneath on the bases are visable (the hands and skulls present in about half the pieces).  If anyone has experience with a 2 part clear resin which would work for me, please let me know!

Till next week, happy gaming!

Where the Horrors are now

Welcome back everyone to SB40k.  Over the last week or so I've been hard at work trying to complete the Pink Horrors I created last month.  I'm making huge strides (for me, that is) in getting the army completed as quickly as possible.

I have 40 of the Horrors displayed here, but I have a much larger number to finish.  Each of the rocks is taking a bit longer than I had anticipated, first needing to be painted with white foundation paint, bright green, and then brushed with a very dark green over it.

The plan from here on out is to add a dark grey highlight to the rocks.  After that is completed I can paint around the edges and add things like arms and heads to the space around the rocks for variety.  When all is said and done, I plan to use a 2 part clear resin and red dye to make the appearance of bloody water with body parts floating in it.  Gross?  You bet!

I hope to finish up with this portion this week, which would be a monumental feat.  Ninety Horrors is more than I'm used to working on (used to MSU in the past).  Wish me luck!

Scratch Built Portalglyph, Horror progress

Hello all, welcome back to SB 40k!  I've been hard at work trying to get the scratch built Horrors in a place where I feel comfortable sharing them, and I think I'm at that place.  First, though, here is the scratch built Portalglyph I threw together last week.

I wanted to keep it fairly simple, and luckily it worked out great.  I cut 4 circles from plasticard the size of a small blast marker (as this is the size indicated by the Daemon Codex),  cut a hole in the center of 3 and put them together with the uncut one.  I added some bits and used the panel scriber to add some definition and break up the monotony.  Finally, I added paint.

Since I figure I'll be using the Portalglyph quite a bit in my Daemon army, it only made sense to whip one up for future games that fit the theme of the stuff I'm building.

As for the Horrors, they're coming along nicely.  I've sculpted and duplicated tails for 99 Horrors in the last 2 weeks and have started the painting process.  Each Horror was painted pink, inked in a brown ink and dried, drybrushed a light pink flesh color, and then airbrushed purple to blue for the tails.

This is what 90 Horrors looks like

I've come a long way so far, and may do a little highlighting after I've finished painting the rocks and adding the resin water.  What I am thinking at the moment is trying for an alien terrain, painting the rocks a very light green coloring and going over that with a darker green to give the impression of a glowing rock.  Not entirely certain, and will have to test it out on one first and see where I go from there.

As for the area around the rock, I'm thinking a clear resin with a red tint to give the impression of a blood like water.  That might need to be tested first in a small container to see if I like it.

Well, that's it for now.  Now you understand why it's been a while since I've updated!

Variety- From Multiple Armies to a Single Codex

Welcome back Scratchbuilders!  Today I'm going to talk a little about what I've noticed since 6th edition books have started to become more prevalent, especially from the viewpoint of a Chaos Daemon player- variety.

Now don't get me wrong, the 40k universe is filled with diversity, from humans and super soldiers to living metal beings or killer bugs.  Ancient races battle with new upstarts while others simply try to hold what they have against foes from many years gone by.

However, often times within each army set one was left feeling they had 'seen it all'.  The flavor of each army didn't really diversify much when compared to other armies created using the same codex.  It wasn't as though people necessarily chose all the same units (though that did happen), but armies tended to get boring very quickly.

I was one of those who couldn't stick with an army, constantly jumping from one to the next.  From Tyranids to Iyanden Eldar to Blood Angels, Thousand Sons CSM to Necron to Sisters of Battle.  To finally settle on Chaos Daemons two years ago it has been a strange, bumpy ride but I wouldn't give it up for anything, especially after 6th edition hit.

Since 6th edition I've played the army in a multitude of combinations.  Within the book is a myriad of possibilities that can keep my opponents wondering from week to week what I am planning to bring.  Could it be lots of flying beasties?  How about an army of fast close combat monsters?  Maybe nearly invincible Screamer book combos?

What I've noticed is no matter what I throw together, whether it is filled with units from across the spectrum of force org choices or the 4 chaos gods, every time it's caused me to cackle with glee or frustration, resulting in fun either way.

The speed with which books come out has only increased the crazy frantic pace of the game, forcing us as players to constantly reexamine how our codex works when a new challenger is released just months later..  This has made the problem of years past, getting too used to a codex, nearly impossible for a casual gamer such as myself.  Each weekend I sit down and make a new list, select new units to throw together and try out.

It all boils down to that one question which can help keep a game interesting- what I should bring tomorrow.  To not have to switch to yet another army to keep my interest is immeasurably valuable and helps me focus on improving my play with what I already have built.


Oh, and here's some tank pictures so far.

Aegis Defense Line and Quad Gun for Chaos SB

Welcome back all you fine folks!  I've been busy trying to make this Chaos army table ready, adding bits here and there to fill in gaps and weaknesses wherever possible.  This week I was able to add in some walls and a gun to act as a Aegis defense Line and a Quad-Gun.

As you can see I've kept it fairly simple.  The Aegis was pretty easy to make, building up each of the tall and short portions of the wall and replicating them using resin was really easy.  The Quad-Gun I used the las cannon barrel I made for the land raider while much of the rest of it was made using left over copper pieces from a random assortment of metal tubes and such I picked up.

That's pretty much it for this week  It's looking kind of busy for me in the next few days so I hope I have a good update for next Sunday.  Hoping to have some coloring added to the Land Raiders, so stay tuned!

Scratch Land Raiders almost ready for paint

Hello all and welcome back.  Right now the Landraiders are coming along nicely and are fairly close to ready to get the paint I desperately desire to apply.  I've added spikes to the vehicle and have a few surfaces which would benefit from a little detail yet, but it's almost there.

I still wish to add something to the portion next to the heavy bolter and perhaps to the rear engines and side doors.  Things are shaping up though and with all the textures I've already applied the tanks are looking fairly good.

Hope to have more this coming weekend!