Get Your Hobby On.

I picked up a rush commission last night and, while prepping the models I had a flash of inspired genius. I was thinking of how I might prime and paint the meltaguns separately so I could more easily paint the chests of the marines. I looked to my right at my trash can (hey, divine inspiration shouldn't be questioned, so don't judge me for randomly checking my trashcan for ideas). There atop the empty food containers and other various basement-centric detritus, was a recently discarded sprue frame. The squared shapes and occasional cylinders of spare plastic merged with some paper clips in my brain and, like John Belushi standing in a Chicagoland church, I saw the light!

Some quick snips with the clippers gave me a small workable bit of frame that would sit flat on a surface and resist being scooted by spraying paint. Some easy work with my pin vice and super glue and the Gun Rack was ready for service.

I placed a tiny drop of glue on the end of each peg so the guns wouldn't fall off. Then I cut a bit of cardboard, secured some tape to hold the backpacks and the gun rack, loaded the whole squad out to the garage and gave it a blast of primer.

The accessories are ready for priming.

The whole operation took less than 30 minutes and it can (and will) be reused again and again. This frame is rigged with 5 pegs so it will hold a whole combat squad compliment of weapons. I imagine it will also work well for heads or any other small bits that might need personal attention.

Let me know if you like this idea, or if you have a better system feel free to share. We're all in this together, right?

Ol'Seth's Iron Hands Conversions

Want to know who's got game when it comes to 40k conversions? It's not hard to figure out. Just looking across the web at some of the beautiful models out there can be downright depressing for those of us with mediocre skills. Ever sit next to an awesome painter/converter and think to yourself "why bother?" Well don't. Every one of those guys started out just like you and me. Practice makes perfect they say. What's perfect look like? Take a look at what Ol'Seth's been up to lately.

Awesome Dread conversion coming to a table near you...

Awesome Cog-Axe thingy of destruction

What's better than a cool converted Dread?  A magnetized Dread of course.

Lascannon/Twin-Linked Plasma Gun Razorback conversion

Plasticard/Brass Etching Rhino front plate

Side view of a Razorback almost too cool looking to be shot at...almost.

Front view.  Don't ask me about the creepy color, I have the photo editing skills of a small brained rodent.

Brand of plasticard used by Ol'Seth

From the mouth of Ol'Seth:  The Razorback as you can see is a Lascannon/TL plasma gun variant because well, I like the looks of a single extended large barrel on a turret.  The white plasticard is all from Evergreen models which I picked up at a local hobby shop and can be ordered online.  The etched brass is from Forgeworld.  There was no special hard to do conversions here as you can see.  The barrel on the lascannon was extended with the plastic tubing from Evergreen models and was accomplished with the use of drill bit attachment on a dremel.  Remember to mark the center of where you want the hole with a center punch or cutting knife which is what I do.  Then drill a pilot hole with a small hand drill before going in with the dremel otherwise you may slip and damage your conversion work. The glacis plate on the front of the Razorback was plasticard simply cut to size by measuring the dimensions of the one that comes with the model.  Scoring the plasticard and then breaking along those score marks is the best way to use the plasticard as some of it is too thick to cut thru with an X-acto knife in a single pass.  The dreadnought's legs I can not take credit for.  That was an idea I borrowed from here:

http://z11.invisionfree.com/Work_In_Progress/index.php?showtopic=16659

As far as the left arm goes I also borrowed that idea from there.  However, I thought a cog  axe would be more Iron Hands appropriate and also would work well since I ultimately want to use it as a Librarian Furioso Dreadnought.  The axe will be its force weapon.  I need to brainstorm and think further on the right arm although I am currently leaning towards a shield being equipped in that arm. 

Ol'Seth is also the creator of the Slaaneshi Baneblade, so you know his skills have pedigree.  Give it up for Ol'Seth and let him know what you think of his work (so that he gets inspired to send me more pictures!)

How to do a Headstand.

So, you've got a head you need to paint, and you want to do an extra good job (say for a competition model or and independant character). You can either glue it to the body, prime it, and paint it along with everything else, OR.... You can use this little contraption. For lack of a better term I'm dubbing it the Headstand. It's super easy to make, and the price is either cheap or free (depending on whether you're a wine drinker or have access to one). All you need is the cork from a wine bottle (sorry, screw-cap drinkers. This one's for the snooty types), and a paper clip. Simply pry the clip apart in a fashion that has half crooked (roughly in an L shape) and the other half sticking out straight at an angle. Insert the crooked end into the cork and bend the rest around it until it holds. It doesn't have to be tight. The cork will hold the wire fairly well.

Once that's done you're ready to prep the head. Grab your handy pin vice and drill a hole in the bottom of the neck. Make sure you drill it deep enough that the head will sit securely atop the paper clip.

Now we're ready for the glue. Dab a little atop the paper clip and seat the head. Turn the head until it's facing in the direction that will be most comfortable for you to hold the stand while you paint. Let the glue set and you're ready to go! Don't worry about the head being attached to the clip forever. With some gentle but persistant twisting the head should separate easily from the stand and be ready for attaching to the model. In the unlikely event that it doesn't you can always snip the wire with your cutters. I've found this little tool to be extremely helpful and I hope you do as well. Please leave comments if you try it, or if you have other ideas that work please share them. Happy modelling!

Mr. Angry Face says, "Paint me NOW heretic, or I shall purge thee with righteous flame!"

Space Marine Drop Pod tutorial, Part 2 (Still Dark Eldar free!)

Just like in any complex construction, the foundation is key. Luckily the foundation of the Space Marine Drop Pod is fairly idiot-proof. The base is two pieces (with a few little vent fans that glue on the bottom), and the 5 doors are two pieces each. That's the good news.

The bad news is the doors, like every other contact point, must be shaved like a Wookiee going to work in food service.

The key points are the underside just above the "hinge" (i.e. the base of the actual door which will close against the floor of the pod). This seam, when the two door pieces are glued together, will not be square. You'll want to dry-fit the doors into the floor pieces and check to see how flush they close. Then scrape whatever excess plastic you find around all the seams, paying close attention to the hinge and the door base I mentioned previously.

Once you are sure you have all the doors able to close completely you can begin carefully gluing the floor to the base after laying the doors in their brackets (this part is pretty obvious so I won't go into more detail.)

Painter's Note: This is the perfect time to take care of painting the base of the pod (at least the inside bits.) As you can see I have also decided to handle the caution striping at this stage. It's a great deal easier to get your hands at the right angles to tape and paint before the walls are raised. Here is how I did the stripes:

I laid out a strip of blue painter's tape on my handy exacto cutting mat and marked it in 3/8 inch intervals. Then I used a ruler to cut the tape along those lines with my exacto knife. Finally I cut the tape in half longways leaving me with a strip of 3/8" tabs of tape to be peeled off and used as needed. I found a length of about 8 inches gave me more than enough tabs to do all 5 doors.

Once the tabs were cut (and the door edges were painted black), I proceeded to tape every 2 "dots" (the recesses that are molded along the door edge), leaving the first 3 dots from the pod black, then an open strip, then 2 dots covered with tape, then 2 dots exposed, etc until the end of the door was reached.

I then painted the exposed areas with foundation paint followed by a brighter yellow once dry. Once I had the yellow looking the way I wanted I carefully peeled off the tape and cleaned up a few slips. Tadaa! Done.

At this point the base of the pod is ready to go. We will use this portion to help build the uprights in part 3 of the tutorial.

Feel free to post any questions you may have. Until next time, FOR THE EMPEROR!

Space Marine Drop Pod tutorial, Part 1 (HEY! No Dark Eldar!)

First, let me acknowledge that others in our hobby have blazed this trail prior to me. The only reason I'm posting this is to share some detailed observations regarding the infamous (and oft hated) Space Marine Drop Pod assembly, or perhaps to help someone who reads this blog that may have encountered problems. At least I hope it will help you avoid the above scenario.

Anyone who has purchased one of these long-overdue and dreamed of kits will already know that the GW instructions included within the box are, in a word, crap. And that's me censoring myself big time. The pictures are vague and barely instructive (a feature I've often found to be key in instructions, but maybe I'm just picky).

Now, don't get me wrong. The model itself is an opus of engineering and design. The kit is so well made that, if properly prepped and assembled, will fit so snugly together that glue becomes an option in some places rather than a necessity.

So if you're staring at a Pod on the sprue and haven't done the following, STOP and do this before you go any further:

1. Go here and study this blog. Pay close attention to (and even save and zoom) the picture.
2. Clip your kit from the sprue and SHAVE MOLD LINES.
3. Shave some more.
4. Once you think you have the mold lines gone, SHAVE SOME MORE!
5. Dry fit everything. If it resists, well, see steps 2-4.

I hope you see how vitally important the complete and thorough elimination of mold lines is in this process. As a hobbyist with a glue-frosted and disassembled-via-velocity kit sitting in the box (which has been covered in various litanies of hate and profanity), I really can not stress this enough.

Once you get the imperfections shaved completely (focusing extra hard on the contact surfaces between hull and base, as well as the underside of doors where they contact the model when closed), you may opt to begin gluing the pieces into the Pod's 3 main parts: Hull, Base w/ doors, and console.

A. The console-

The console is the central pylon which forms the core of the Pod. To assemble this hold the segments upside down (so you're looking "up" into the pylon) and, once dry-fitted, carefully glue each segment to the one before it using a little glue on the contact surfaces. If you look carefully you will notice that each segment has a tiny notch at the bottom and a tab at the top (with an indentation on the backside that receives the tab on the next piece). Once you dry-fit the first two segments together while looking at the underside you will see how the fit snugly together. Be sure to hold each joined segment carefully until the glue sets, then let it sit a bit longer until it is good and solid. If you start attaching the segments too fast the whole thing will pop apart in your hands and rage will ensue. Patience is key in this process.

Eventually you will get down to the final segment. This part is TRICKY! CAREFULLY and gently twist the final piece in so the tab slips together at the top and the bottom fits snugly into the notch at the bottom. This can get frustrating but with a little practice it will work. Be sure to try it a few times without glue before you do it for keeps. I found it best to put the glue on the receiving segment rather than the one I was handling, but you know your fingers better than I.

After the pylon is together and the glue has set you can slip the dome over the top to hold everything in place. If the dome fits snugly you have the pylon together perfectly. If it fights to go on you likely have a segment or two out of whack and will need to fix the problem. If the dome is snug, go ahead and glue it.

The next step is to begin dry-fitting the harnesses into the posts. There is one key element here to consider:

There is one harness with a skull on the cross-piece. This piece will only fit into the upright that has a circular hole instead of a square. There is only ONE circular hole on the uprights so once you find it you're home free.

Glue the harnesses into the uprights (after dry-fitting of course) and make sure the "bulb" where they meet (around the little nipple on the back of the uprights) is cylindrical (i.e. make sure the seams are as smooth as possible and line up well). You'll want to hold both harnesses for a bit until the glue sets so there's no slippage.

Once the harnesses are in place you'll want to check each bulb seam and scrape or file them until they're even. This is the part that will insert into the round holes that surround the console just under the dome top. If they will stick in until the hoses are nearly touching the pylon you have a good fit.

Painters Note: It's a good idea to paint the console before you assemble it completely. I laid down a dry-brush of Boltgun Metal over black, then hit it with a few highlights of Chainmail and then painted some of the fittings gold or brass. This is purely optional of course.

Go ahead and grab the floor piece and notice the raised bump in the middle, as well as the long, narrow slots around the outside. You will also notice that each upright has a thin, flattened rod of plastic sticking out and pointing in the same direction as the bulb above. On the central pylon you'll see a small arch in the center of each segment. Be SURE to slip the rod under the arch when affixing the uprights to the pylon, and make sure you have them glued properly. What I did was after inserting the upright into the pylon I would slip the tab at the base of the upright into a slot while the central pylon sat over the central bump. This ensured that all the pieces were in the right place and would remain so while the glue solidified. Again, this is NOT a race, and if you go for speed you WILL lose.

Work through the uprights, leaving the "skull" harness to go in next to the control panel on the pylon (see picture). Do NOT glue this upright.

At this point you can go ahead and finish painting the console as detailed as you wish. Once it's done and all but the skull upright are glued into place you'll be ready for part 2 (coming soon).