Valkyrie Refurbish WIP 1

After the refurbishing job done on the Valdor tank hunter, I decided to pull a NAVY blue Valkyrie out of my drawer and see what I could do to make it presentable again. The original model was not even completed, and had basically disassembled itself after years of rattling around in a drawer. I'm surprised I found enough pieces to put it back together. Part of me was looking forward to doing a crashed version, but after a little hunting I found everything.

I painted this up to match my DAK styled Lightning fighter.

I'm pretty sure that the Death Korps of Krieg don't have Valkyries, but it looked cool, especially with fighter escort.

So has anyone else been inspired to repaint an old vehicle?

Narrative 30K

Our second narrative 30k game took place last night over some nice martinis. One of the stand out things to me was that playing 30K made me want the tactical decisions available in Bolt Action. As the defender in this game I was able to deploy my forces secretly, and only reveal them as Eric's Raven Guard scouted onto the table. His objective was the comms relay station that I had just painted the night before. After our first game, in Arnhem 30k, the raven guard were abandoned on planet and had to scrounge for vehicles. The relay point was supposed to help them contact their fleet at best, or other stranded Raven Guard at worst. Despite great scouting,  and the ensuing overrunning of the Sons of Horus garrison force, the Raven Guard were unable to capture the communications relay. However, they were able to enact their revenge on the garrisoned force just up until the point the Warhound titan arrived to clean up. At this point the Raven Guard abandoned what remained of their vehicles and escaped down a hatch into the unknown. Land Speeders provided a rear guard action, nearly taking the Titan out.

This means, Zone Mortalis is next!

Speed Painting Scenery

Our Heresy campaign continues tonight, and after looking around for some suitably futuristic terrain I decided to grab these pieces and quickly paint them up using a Sherman tank palette. These models probably have three hours max all in. The trick was not caring too much about cleaning up the pin wash. That said, these may get touch ups, chipping, and some rework later since I really like the models. But for now, they have to get straight to work on our table for this evenings battle, where they will be secretly placed on Normandy like terrain. The hatch leads to an underground segment of the battlefield that will have to be built if the Raven Guard find it. Let's hope Eric does, as we both want to get a proper game of zone mortalis in.

Upgrading Paint On Ancient Valdor Tank Hunter

I've had one of my earliest Forgeworld purchases sitting in my display cabinet awaiting a bath of Simple Green for years now. Needless to say, my painting has changed a lot over the last decade. I don't know when this tank was purchased, but it was so old that it had developed a thick coating of dust. Rather than get my hands all goopy paint stripping the thing, I decided instead to practice some weathering on it. So, in order to upgrade the tired paint scheme, I added enamel pin washes, a light brown filter, streaking, weathering powders, and a new headlight lens.

So, yes it works. Weathering can save a vehicle from the dreaded orange smelling green solvent bath. I might even add some stowage and push the vehicle further along. On the other hand, I have a FW Thunderhawk to build.

DKoK Lightening Completed

I think I've 'finished' this model a couple of time, but this time it is really done. To counteract more of enamel problems, I dusted the entire model with a 1/10 mixture of Buff color. This dusted the model and provide a similar effect to a filter. The only real difference is that when I normally apply filters I don't let them get into the recesses of the model. By spraying buff, it became an all over filter. I also painted all of the missing lenses, and the pilot.

The base is not done, but I am still thrilled to move this model off of my desk and into the cabinet. The base is a separate and probably more enjoyable task.

I guess it is time to paint something bigger...

DKoK Lightening Mostly Done

I just realized I forgot to paint the lenses and the pilot! So, mostly done it is. It seems that every other post, I realize that a model isn't really completed. What would my stuff look like if I didn't post? I bet it would look unfinished.

I hope the smoke and chipping hides the lacquer problems I had. I think it does. I used a photo of a Japanese ww2 Zero for the aluminum chipping inspiration. I suppose I should dust the whole model using a sand colored filter now. I had intended to use an enamel for my filter, but after the lacquer incident that wasn't doable. Overall, this model is close to what I envisioned. It just lacks the realism I like.

Death Korps Lightening WIP 2

*EDIT additional photos added with better natural lighting.

I had intended this model to be a display piece, but an unfortunate incident with Model Master Semi-Gloss lacquer ended that option. Once on the model, lacquer normally forms a protective barrier to allow enamel pin washes and oil work. This lacquer bonded with the enamels and made is exceedingly difficult to remove the excess. I literally scrubbed the model with towels, and stippling brushes to remove as much as I could. In doing so I rubbed off layers of paint, and imparted fingerprints into the model. Lesson learned. Model Master paints are garbage. I won't touch them with a ten foot poll.

So where do I go from here? I'd like to make the model more presentable, so I'm going to have to weather more than I had originally intended. I'll use aluminum colored paint chipping to distract from tide lines. I intend to overspray some of the original yellow to tone down those areas and clean them up a bit. Finally, I'll add smoke streaking to the kit. That will add visual interest and hide some of the fingerprints in harder to touch up places. I love the model, but I don't think I want to strip it and start over. I expected an easier finish to this kit, and have been getting ready for my next challenge.

Death Korps Lightening Fighter Masking

When the lightening came out I ran out and purchased one, which has until now sat beneath my desk gathering dust. (years worth of dust) One of the things that kept me from painting this model, was the annoying cockpit canopy. I don't enjoy painting them in general and especially if they are cast poorly. However this time around, I was able to use Micro Mask successfully and had a very easy time of it.  I'm really happy with it. I think the cool green of the interior showing through is really useful in making the model pop.

So, did I borrow a color scheme from the DAK? Yes. However, I think once all of the Imperial iconography is on the fighter that it will look different enough to be acceptable. It pairs really well with my Death Korps, which are based on dusty desert looking rock.

Step 1: Mask exterior using three coats of Micro Mask

Step 2: Paint the exterior using the interior color. This color will show through from the outside as a person looks through the canopy.

 Step 3: Heavy coat of primer. This should help form a sturdy surface for painting.

Step 4: Remove mask.