Some site changes and painted Predator

Hello and welcome back to the site.  I'll get into the changes, but first I want to show off the images of the Predator I've been painting.

As you can see, I'm still using the same color sets as the space marines from the Pride of the Emperor chapter I've been building, though in this case I've focused more heavily on the browns and the blacks.

The front head lights are turning out better than I had hoped, as well as the windowed areas.

You may not be able to tell, but my lines are not as straight as I'd like them to be, and I find the process tricky  no matter how careful I am.  I tend to make a lot of mistakes doing it and need to go back and thin lines down.

Still need to paint the gun wires and add small details like chapter numbers.  I'm not sure how detailed I'm going to get on the Predators, though.  The problem with getting overzealous on tanks is when you have 7 of them you have to be overzealous on all of them or it looks out of place.

So, on to site changes.  You may have noticed the background has changed to a somewhat darker color and the title has changed.  This is only the beginning as I'll be fiddling with the site layout and finding the colors which best suit the site as the month goes on.  Hopefully in the end the site will look and feel better to everyone who visits.

Until next time, happy building and gaming all.

And then there were Razorbacks

Welcome back all.  Over the last week I've been able to find the time to throw together 3 Razorbacks for the Pride of the Emperor (counts-as Blood Angels) army I've been building.

As regular readers will probably notice right off, the Razorback uses the same frame as the Predator, which is, of course, based on the Space Marine Rhino.  There are a few differences, mainly in the side doors, small door at the top, and the weapon load-out at the top.

For the Razorbacks I put together a custom made las cannon/twin linked plasma gun to work with my list.  The plasma guns were made initially using sculpey, wire, plasticard, and a small metal circle.  I then cast the piece in InstaMold and recast using resin.

I have yet to make the exhaust pieces at the sides, but this is mostly how they look.  Again, another set of vehicles that will need painting, and I'm hoping I can find the time!

Unpainted Finished Scratch Built Space Marine Predator

Well, here it is, the finished Space Marine Predator I've been working on for the last couple weeks.

I may create covers for the rear portions of the side las cannons.  The two las cannons and the top turret are removable for easy storage and transport.

For the rivets I used stick pins cut at the appropriate length and glued into position.  I also added a vent at the rear under the turret and a stick pin antennae.

Now I only hope I can find the time to paint it!

Things are progressing nicely

Right now the Predators are progressing nicely, with the las cannon side turrets attached and the top autocannon turret.

The tank treads were cast using a mold I made ages ago out of resin and curved while still soft.  Additionally, the top hatches were part of the same mold, which made casting them together easier.

The top turret was made using two 40 mm bases making up the bottom portions and 2 pieces of foam board cut at various angles and the styrofoam areas covered with plasticard.  The barrel was put together using a copper tube, 2 sided tape, and pen casing.  Pen casings are becoming my favorite tubing material, since it is easy to cut, shape, and adjust.

Well, that's what's been keeping me busy this week.  I'm hoping to finish the details on the Predators tonight by adding rivets and perhaps smoothing the edges down.  If I can create the side exhaust pieces and recast them quickly, then the pieces will be done and I will move to resize the Rhino to better fit the actual size of the model.

Till next time!

From Daemons to Space Marines

Welcome back one and all to my little corner of the blogosphere.  I've yet again gone back to the hobby army of Space Marines I had previously set aside to rebuild a Tzeentch Chaos Daemon army.  Enough of this talky stuff, time for some pics!

I've jumped back into painting the Terminators, using this lightning claw laden beast as the template for future Terminators.  Again, there is room for additional details to be added later should I feel the desire, but for the most part this is how it will look.