Friday Reflections

We've come to a very interesting place 11 months after the release of 6th edition.  Games Workshop has turned around and given us new codexes and models at a pace we've never experienced before.  A year ago, the 40k forum collective and blogosphere were ripe with people bemoaning the snail's pace of releases and updates.  Today, we're getting new books, units, and models so fast that only the hobby elite (read: those with the most free time) have actually had time to read every page if every new book and play with or against the new units.  The most common complaint I hear from my closest circle is lack of time to reflect on all the new content and experience the meta changes on the table.

CSM Hobby Update

Just a quick hobby update from my cave.

I'm taking a new approach to this army project, getting 3 colors on everything so I can play with it while I finish it up.  Here's an update to "mini-mauler", my conversion to use as a nurgle lord on a palanquin (or juggernaut lord counts-as to fit my army appearance).  He's entirely from the fantasy chariot kit with minimal conversions.  Up to this stage, he's airbrushed only and awaiting washes and detailing.

Best Practise: Sculpting with Glues for Nurgle Conversions

Inspiration is always a driving factor in my quest to explore new techniques in modeling and painting.  I'm constantly inspired by the new plastics that GW is releasing.  However, they don't come cheap so to balance out my addiction for new plastic, I'm always searching for inspirations that are also cheap.  Time is also scarce these days so speedy techniques are also inspiring to me.

I've always been shocked by the painting quality and speed of the most prolific artists on CMON and around the blogosphere.  It seems logical that the people making a business out of commissions would have some of the best techniques.  The key is spreading the knowledge.

On Our Painting Table - March 29th

Here's a hobby update on what we've been working on in the time between writing and gaming.  I've been steadily plugging away at my CSM.  Above is my Scibor Rotten Lord that I'm using for Typhus.  Pay no mind to the missing portion of the weapon's shaft, it fell off right before photographing.

March Blog Update & CSM Rebuild Update

March was an exciting month for the Mandulian Chapel.  We saw our 300th post and brought our 5th author on board.  Crimthaan (Andy) posted yesterday's article and will be a resident Space Marine player and fluff enthusiast.  Now that we have five authors, it will be our goal to get in one article per day Monday through Friday.  Our content will span from fluff to theory/mathammer, terrain, painting, converting, and battle reports.  Together, we share a deep passion and respect for the hobby and the desire to share our thoughts and discuss our experiences.  I hope you enjoy the additional content!

Calypsots - CSM and Sorcerer Painting

Following the huge painting push I went through before Da Boyz back in November I have had a bit of trouble getting back into painting.  Other life stressors contributed as well - is it me or are the holidays terrible for Warhammer?!  The important part is that I had a few days where I was able to sit down for a few hours and do some painting and modeling.  The painting aspect was the most therapeutic  but this also represents my first real foray into kit bashing.  Below is the Sorcerer I will be using as an allied HQ - and maybe in a CSM army at some point.

I wanted to keep the models consistent with my Daemons colors - since I already spent so much time discussing CSM allies for Daemons - which means Purple, Pink, Teal and Green are the primary colors with fleshy tones for the skins.

Tyranid Conversions

     A couple of weeks ago the rumor mill was saying that the highly anticipated flyer release was imminent. While I’m always excited to see new minis hit the shelves, especially the long awaited Harpy, I’m pretty sure that the rumor of a flyer release has been around every month for the last few years. I wasn’t too disappointed when I saw that next month’s release would be Warriors of Chaos, but it got me thinking about some of the conversions that I’ve made for the Tyranid units that didn’t have an initial release. Here are some of my conversions. 

Chaos Marines Salvage Project

 Here's a glimpse of a project and side of me that only a handful of people have ever seen.  The first army I ever fully collected and built was CSM back from 2nd edition in my college days.  Above are some predators, metal marines, terminators, and a rhino from the army I collected 13 years ago.  The new codex release has rekindled my interest so I decided to approach this project from a new direction:  Build a 6th edition army based around models that I have and store credit/prize support that I've accumulated with as few cash purchases as possible.  This was a fun challenge because it involved using what I already have and resisting what I really want to buy.