TT Combat Large Crates for Necromunda - Review Part 1

As you may know Steve and I (James) have been trying to get into Necromunda recently. We both love the game but have struggled over the last few months to get to together to play it. Steve has bought the box set and I have bought an Orlock gang and have nearly finished painting them up.

Orlocks 1

Orlocks 2

Anyway we are currently learning the rules bit by bit and are playing through the missions in the Underhive rulebook. We last played 'The Trap' which is the 2nd mission of the 6 and are planning on getting together more often to play through the next 4 and then progress onto 3D terrain and play a campaign.

Ahead of playing on 3D terrain I have started thinking about get some proper Necromunda style terrain ready to play on. After looking around and realising everything is so damn expensive I stumbled on TTCombat.

I do want to note now that I am NOT affiliated to TT Combat in any way and they won't even know that I am writing this review!!

Converted Squat army spotted!

It's been a while since we've posted due to work and family but there is still lots of hobby going on at Dad HQ.

One but of hobby that gets overlooked often is that of checking out other people's models. This week I have been away on Scout camp (yes I am a scout leader) and on a day out in Plymouth managed to nip off and visit the local GW store (I couldn't find any independent shops anywhere so please enlighten me if there are any in Plymouth).

On browsing the store I laid my eyes upon a very cool Squat army converted from a multitude of different models. Now I don't like either squats or the idea of them in 40k but these were still cool. Unfortunately I have no idea of who painted them but kudos to whoever did!

Hope you enjoy - James

The full army

Throne of Skulls Doubles Tournament Feb 2018 - Part 6 - The Miniatures Exhibition Hall

Although not strictly a part of the tournament, if you are at Warhammer World it is a given that you should ALWAYS visit the exhibition hall. And anyway with the tournament entry you gain free entry to the hall so there really is no excuse and, believe me, it is well worth it.

I figured that for those who have never been it is always worth it to see some pictures even if they do absolutely no justice to the displays in the hall. There are hundreds of displays of different models but I always prefer to see the displays of models mid-battle. The makers of these types of display are not only skilled painters but the imagination and creative modelling skills are quite something to behold.

Unfortunately Rich and I could only grab a half hour in the hall and didn't even scratch the surface of the experience. I think that you could spend 3-4 hours in there many times over and never get bored and keep seeing new things. It really is that amazing.

Anyway enough of blowing smoke up backsides have a look at some of the pictures of my favourite dioramas I found in the hall...

An Ork Siege against a castle in Age of Sigmar

Just an incredibly modeled battlefield!

Building a Zone Mortalis Board from scratch

Dad Rich and I have played a few games of Zone Mortalis (See Imperial Fists v Flesh Tearers here) over the last 12 months. It is a fun way to play, quick and provides a very different experience from standard 40k.

With regards to a board to play on, he has been sneaky enough to purchase a Zone Mortalis set without his better half knowing and has airbrushed it up to a playable standard fairly quickly!

Rich's Zone Mortalis board

Unfortunately not all of us are lucky enough to be able to afford to get a Forge World board and also, although it looks cool I quite fancied a Zone Mortalis board that would be more unique and varied rather than grey spaceship walls. In fact a dungeon style set of ruins took my fancy so I did a bit of research online and received my inspiration from Machu Picchu with a grey, grassy style. With this in mind I set to work designing and building my own board from scratch...

The Emperors Feth Astra Militarum Army Part 3 - Troops - Heavy Weapons Squads

This third post in the series continues the tour of my Astra Militarum army 'The Emperors Feth'. You can catch my list and how I got into the army here anwhat my HQ looks like here.

Today I fancied delving into my lone platoon and having a look at what heavy weaponry I have.

He ain't heavy, he's my brother
Every army needs light and heavy vehicle killers and so I chose 9 heavy weapon teams to sit in my platoon as 2 heavy weapon squads and 3 teams distributed across my HQ and 2 troop squads that combine together. I group them as follows:

1 lascannon in the HQ - 1 shot but at bs4.

Tutorial: How to make and use oil washes

I have been using oil washes for a few years now, here is a tutorial in which I will take you through the process I use for making the oil wash, protecting the model, and applying the wash itself. Plus a few more random thoughts that came to mind as I was talking....

fourdadsoftheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk – A blog about Warhammer 40k and the Horus Heresy by four Dads

Spartan Challenge 8 - VIIth Legion update

So after starting the Spartan Challenge I decided that I had too many projects on the go and that I needed to finish some off before allowing myself the pleasure of finishing this model off. As a result I have barely touched it for the last 8 weeks! However, this has meant that I have finished off 30 Breachers and 10 Terminators (who will appear in a future blog post). 

In addition to this, like a proper over-worked Dad I have changed jobs, moved house and done a fair bit of travelling with work - somehow I have managed to fit quite a lot into Feb and March of this year!

So, after missing the deadline for the Spartan Challenge I thought I had better get back on track, here is a pic of my latest progress. 

Oil-washing and Pin-washing

Before I do any of this the model gets airbrushed with varnish. I use matt varnish but I know others use gloss before an oil wash as the wash runs better into the cracks, and you can then seal it all with a nice matt, but I am lazy and haven't bought another varnish yet. 

Washing is a laborious technique and I swore I would resist the temptation to pin-wash every rivet on the Spartan but have totally failed to resist picking out all that detail. Pin-washing is a well documented technique (just put the title into you tube/google), you get a little painters white spirit (I use AK Interactive stuff) and mix it with an oil paint, I have used Windor Newton Burnt Umber here which goes nicely against the yellow or the VIIth Legion. 

I mix it up to the point that the wash will be 'sucked' into cracks and crevices by the capillary effect, but has enough pigment/oil paint to ensure it leaves a nice dark colour behind; its a balance you can learn with a bit of practice. I then put a dab onto each rivet and leave it to dry. I also dab the loaded brush against any crack or crevice (zoom in on the side-hatch above to see the four rectangles as an example) and leave it to dry. I am happy to leave for up to 60mins to dry, but have never tried it over a longer period just incase it dries to hard to be affected.

Once it has dried a little a get a pot of the painters white spirit and start to dissipate any hard edges of wash so it blends in nicely to the colour beneath. Once done you can then seal it with a final varnish.

Its a simple technique that looks awesome. I would recommend doing it in a well ventilated room or the fumes can get to you after a while!

I still have a couple of areas to finish washing, then its on to chipping with my trusty bit of foam and finishing on lascannons etc and the Spartan is ready.

I am fighting against Dad James's Flesh Tearers this week so we will see how the VIIth manage.

Any comments and questions please comment below....

Time - How do you fit 40k into your life?

Time

The thing with Warhammer 40k is that it takes up a huge amount of time.

 

It takes time to hobby:

1.       Getting the models, paints and equipment out

2.       Painting models

3.       Building models

4.       Cutting models off the sprue

5.       Cleaning the models up (mould lines etc.)

6.       Travelling to and from shops to buy stuff

7.       Buying stuff

8.       Putting stuff away again after hobby time.

 

It takes time to play:

1.       Building lists

2.       Travelling to and from a playing venue if not at home

3.       Setting up a play area

4.       Getting models out

5.       Playing the actual game

6.       Taking down the play area

7.       Putting models away again

 

It takes time to read, keep up to date and interact about 40k

1.       Reading blogs

2.       Reading books

3.       Listening to podcasts

4.       Watching Youtube vids

5.       Social media interactions

6.       Chatting with friends on the phone, whatsapp etc.

7.       Playing 40k games – Space Marine, Space Hulk etc.

 

When I look back at this list, and I’m sure I have missed loads of things, I really do wonder how on earth anyone has the time to get involved with the game or any of its forms.

My current situation

 

My life at the moment is pretty hectic. I am married with my wife and I both working as full time teachers in special schools. We have 2 children under 11, 1 dog and 2 Guinea pigs. I am also a Beaver scout leader and so my standard week looks something like this:

Monday

School. Evening is free but generally do schoolwork as it’s the start of the week.

 

Tuesday

School followed straight away by Beavers. No free time in the evening.

 

Wednesday

School. Daughter activities but 1 hour free in the evening.

 

Thursday

School. Daughter activities. Home about 9.15pm ready for tea!

 

Friday

School. Daughter activities.

 

Saturday

Family Day

 

Sunday

Church. Family Day, schoolwork in evening.

 

As a dad I am sure I am not alone in this kind of routine and unfortunately it leaves very little time to spend on myself. As many people do I also have many interests. I play guitar, like to drink beer, play 40k, rock climb, train in the gym and play different sports. So what can we do to be able to squeeze some time in for Warhammer?

 

Making Time

 

1.       Focus on the bigger picture

The first thing that I find I need to do is realise that I am very lucky. I have a beautiful wife and 2 beautiful daughters, I live in my own house (well the bank owns most of it!) and my situation, living in England, is very fortunate – we are safe and living in a lawful democracy. I must never forget that these are the most important things in my life even if I really want to paint that model or play that game. In reality it is only Warhammer – even if I really love it I could do without it – Just!

2.       Be organised

I find that I need to keep a diary and plan ahead when I am going to do things. This is already in place as I have a school diary that I use every day. Using this I plot my days and then I can put my hobbies into place around the events I can’t change – daughter activities, work etc.
There are some weeks where I just can’t have anything to do with 40k. This week for instance has been impossible as it is assessment report time at school and I have had meetings for scouts in the evenings. Other weeks however give me loads of opportunities when my wife will go out to see her friends or takes the girls to their activities.

3.       Do little and often

One of the most successful ways that I make progress with hobby time in 40k is to plan 20-30min sessions into my week. Even if we are busy it is always possible to find a half hour here and there. Before I do this I make sure that I know exactly what I’m going to be doing (base colours of red and black or washes for example). This reduces the time spent setting up as I can get things ready prior to my 30mins so I can start painting straight away.

4.       Use your dead time

Dead time is time spent commuting, breaks at work or waiting for children to finish their activities. Commuting is a great time for podcasts while driving. A break at work for Twitter, Facebook etc. Write a blog post while waiting for children during their activities.

5.       Plan ahead

For longer activities such as games it is important to plan ahead. Look at your diary at least a month ahead and pick a date to play. Then make sure to tell your better half and okay it there and then. Believe me it is much better than springing it on your partner last minute! Once it is agreed he or she can plan to do things around your time playing such as meeting friends or another activity. Unfortunately sometimes things do go wrong last minute such as an argument or something urgent comes up which means the game gets cancelled (I have let the other dads down enough times!) but at the end of the day refer back to point 1 and remember what’s important. Another game can always be booked in also giving you more leverage as it has been cancelled once already.

What a week may look like

 

My week planned ahead may look something like this:

 

Monday

Before school while the girls practice piano I practice the guitar. School. Listen to 40k podcast on way home. Schoolwork to set me up for the rest of the  week. Read Black Library book in bed.

 

Tuesday

Before school while the girls practice piano I practice the guitar. School followed straight away by Beavers. Listen to 40k podcast on way home. Read Black Library book in bed.

 

Wednesday

Before school while the girls practice piano I practice the guitar. School. Listen to 40k podcast on way home. Wife takes daughters to activities and goes to gym. Hobby time 1 hour. Read Black Library book in bed.

 

Thursday

School. Listen to 40k podcast on way home. Take daughters to activities. Home about 9.15pm ready for tea! Read Black Library book in bed.

 

Friday

School. Listen to 40k podcast on way home. Take Daughters to activities. Read Black Library book in bed.

 

Saturday

Family Day. Read Black Library book in bed.

 

Sunday

Family Day, schoolwork in evening. Read Black Library book in bed.

 

As you can see with my week, painting time is only an hour, however my wife may go and see her friends one night or may go to the gym a couple of nights in the week when my girls have gone to bed. Typically I get another two half hour slots for hobby time during the week. This doesn't sound a lot but if you are prepared these half hours add up and make you focus which is great for getting projects finished.

 

Deadlines

One final aspect of fitting in some hobby is to give yourself an ultimatum or a deadline. I have two such deadlines at the moment.

1.       I am not allowed to buy any more models until I have no more to paint.

-          This hurts. A lot! But I am getting through my Flesh Tearers and Astra Militarum because of it. I have about 1000 points of AM and about 1500 of Flesh Tearers to go…

2.       The four dads have started the Spartan challenge within which I entered my Stormraven. It needed painting but I have been putting it off as I don't really like the model so it is a great way to push myself to get it done.

 

I hope that you have enjoyed reading about the difficulties of fitting 40k in and I would love to hear how you do it, whether you are similar to me or of any better ways to get more 40k into my life.

 

All the best,

 

James

Part 2: For Sparta!

Part 2: For Sparta!

Ok so to recap, I have built the tank, primed with Chaos Black and then airbrushed Vallejo Grey Primer.

When I did the black and grey I left the recesses darker and ensured the raised areas got plenty of the Vallejo grey. This is a form of pre-shading which will leave the recessed areas darker once I have airbrushed the base colour, in this case Vallejo Gold Yellow. I like this approach as it is a simple way of getting some shading, but most importantly it gives some variation in colour to the larger panels. This is something anyone can do; I picked up a couple of cans of Chaos Black and Mechanicum Grey from GW earlier in the week and these would do the job even if you don't own an airbrush - simply spray the black and then a lighter layer of grey on top. I tend to spray from the direction of the light when doing this, ie directly above to imitate the natural effect of upper surfaces appearing brighter. I can recommend it even on infantry to give you some easy shading.


Next I airbrushed on a couple of coats of Vallejo Gold Yellow. There are plenty of recipes online for painting Imperial Fists, I looked through a few of these but ultimately found this to be a great yellow by accident - I ordered the wrong paint and thought I'd give it a go, looks good to me so have stuck with it! It's quite a 'rich' yellow with some thick pigment and it makes a great base for all the weathering I love - still shining through beneath all the oil washing and chipping.



I masked off three stripes and sprayed the area between with AK Interactive Heavy Chipping Fluid. This is going to produce a natural looking chipping effect, it is amazing stuff and really simple to use. Once the Chipping Fluid is dry, spray on some paint (Vallejo Dark Sea Grey). Once this is dry get a toothbrush and some water. Wet the surface of the paint, and brush gently, the paint will flake away in a random and interesting way. I think it looks great and is far easier than trying to do it with a brush.



I think with yellow you need plenty of dark contrasting colours to make it stand out and these stripes will help frame the yellow. I would also recommend Tamiya Masking Tape, I have used it for years, I get it on a dispensing roll. It's never stuck too hard and pulled paint off and it makes a perfect edge every time without any paint bleeding beneath it.

I then painted the tracks and any metal bits in Leadbelcher. A quick wash of Nuln oil and the Spartan was ready for the next stage....



Time for some decals. I got the latest FW Imperial Fist transfers - the updated decals are subtly improved with more detail that is in keeping with the FW 'look'. I use MicroSol and MicroSet with decals. You only really need these on an uneven surface. Buy a bottle of each and they'll last a lifetime.



I asked the Dads for advice on which decals to use and white ones got the vote - they make a nice contrast with the dark grey I think. Before I add decals I always take a modelling knife and 'chip' some bits off before I set them down. This gives them the same weathered look as the rest of the tank without having to try and paint over them - doesnt work I've tried it when I forgot to do this once!

Weathering powder time:



Using the weathering pigments from Forgeworld (aged rust, light rust, dark iron, dark earth, fresh mud) and some Lamina Medium I daubed these liberally on the tracks leaving a little Leadbelcher showing through in places. I will come back to these later and drybrush a little more Leadbelcher on to finish them. It's a simple technique to produce some nicely aged looking tracks. Nothing difficult here.



Now for something I have done on my Terminators and Kheres Dreadnaught. Using Vallejo Hull Red I airbrush along the seams of plating and any recesses on the tank. This is to represent wear and collection of dirt and dust. It's a burnt umber kind of colour which I would never have guessed would look good but somehow the contrast looks great to me and once you go in with some chipping and dirt type dust colours it looks ace.

So that's it for now. To follow is some chipping, then varnish, then some oil washing in the recesses, weathering powder in the lower areas and it's well on track for completion. Hope you like it so far, drop me a line if you want to know about anything I have done.

The Emperor's Feth Astra Militarum Army Part 1 - The beginning & thelist

The Emperor’s Feth

I enjoy hearing about how people started in this hobby, chatting about armies, lists and I absolutely love looking at painted models. With this in mind I thought I would blog about my history with 40k, what I’ve been up to, and introduce my 1^st army The Emperor’s Feth. I hope that you enjoy what I’ve been up to and would love to hear your story and what you think of my army and list. Over this post and more over the next few weeks I’ll showcase this army with my thoughts and how I painted each unit so please read on, enjoy and comment by all means…

The Beginning…

So as The Emperor’s Champion (Rich) says 2009 rolls around and out of curiosity I walk into a Games Workshop in Stockport, Manchester. As it happened, that week 5^th edition was due to be released and 40k was being pushed in the store. I got chatting with the manager and had a good look around before my eyes finally came to rest on an Ogryn model. It looked ace – bigger than the others and full of character. I had no idea of the rules or army, all I wanted was to paint this beast and so I bought it with a few paints and a brush and there was the start of my love affair with the Imperial Guard or as it is now known the Astra Militarum.

Above: The first model!

Tournaments

Over the next few weeks 5^th Edition Imperial Guard was released with a bunch of new models which nicely relieved me of any spare cash I had at the time. As I was building my army Rich had also been getting into Ultramarines which prompted lots of games and new models as were constantly trying to beat each other. Each week would see a new addition that one of us would have to counter with a purchase or a list change of our own – we were having a mini arms-race!! At this time Games Workshop began their 40k Doubles tournaments and Rich and myself decided to enter with Ultramarines and Astra Militarum at our first tournament and then with a Double Astra Militarum force at subsequent tournaments. We had to choose a name for our army and so The Emperor’s Feth was born. The doubles tournaments were amazing, we got to meet loads of people (Dad Dave is one), see Warhammer World, do fairly well in the tournaments and most importantly get nominated 4 times for best painted armies.

Above: The Emperor’s Feth at a tournament at Warhammer World

Above: Under pressure at a tournament at Warhammer World. Not quite sure how we got ourselves into this situation!!

Above: Dad Rich looking a bit geeky at our first trip to Warhammer World back in the day

Hobbying

It was during these tournaments where I saw some beautifully painted models that I decided that I wanted to create not just an army but an army with a theme. At this point I was considering painting a Tyranid army as I love Aliens (who doesn’t) and love the idea of Genestealers and a swarm. I started but after putting together and painting a handful of Genestealers decided it was a bad idea that would take far too long – especially as I still wanted to add to The Emperor’s Feth. So I came about the idea that The Feth would be specialists at fighting Tyranids and began to model Tyranids onto my existing Astra Miltarum figures. I also built the army list to this theme. In order to fight the swarm I have lots of bullets, flamers and some snipers and lascannons for the bigger creatures. This hobby idea is still taking shape so you will see some ideas completed and some more develop as I complete projects this year.

Above: One of The Emperor’s Feth Chimeras

At the current time I am also halfway through painting a 40k Flesh Tearers army – more to come on that in a future post – but I still have lots of Feth to continue with yet. Anyway enough chat, let’s get to it with my current list of all the models that are completely painted:

Company Command Squad

Company Commander

2 Veterans with Meltaguns

1 Lascannon Heavy Weapon Team

1 Astropath

Chimera – Multilaser & Heavy Flamer

Platoon Command Squad

Platoon Commander

4 Troops with Flamers

Chimera – Multilaser & Heavy Flamer

Combined Troop Squad

2 x Troop squads

2 x Flamers

2 x Lascannon Heavy Weapon Teams

Commissar

Heavy Weapon Team

3 x Autocannons

Heavy Weapon Team

3 x Missile Launchers

Veteran Squad

3 Plasma Guns

Camo cloaks and snare mines

Chimera – Multilaser & Heavy Flamer

Ratling Squad

6 x Ratlings

Vendetta

10 man troop squad

Vendetta

Manticore

Heavy Flamer

Leman Russ Punisher

Heavy Bolter Sponsons

Heavy Bolter

Leman Russ Executioner

Plasma Sponsons

Heavy Flamer

Leman Russ Demolisher

Plasma Sponsons

Lascannon

Grand Total – 2000 points

Above: The current 2000pt army in all its glory.

As I said earlier, keep looking out for posts on ‘The Feth’ over the next few weeks where I will post more photos, discuss each unit and include how I painted it in detail.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

James

Part 1: The Spartan Challenge - Building a tank the Spartan Way!

If you research this online you will find plenty of horror stories and I can tell you after building one of these badboys it ain't for the faint hearted - if you are new to resin, put this back on the shelf and try something smaller first! I would also recommend the Forgeworld guide to Spartan building - no doubt recorded in response to the troubles we were all having...

 

ForgeWorld Guide to Spartan Tank

I have heard that the design is improving. For example I also built a Sicarian at the same time which put itself together and looks lovely so it's not impossible for Forgeworld to get this to work. But their Spartan production process needs some fine tuning. There were two main problem areas for me: 

1. Tracks

These things are not at one with the machine spirit. I dry fitted them multiple times, some times they would all fit fine, others they wouldn't - I still can't explain it! In the end I trimmed a bit off two of the tracks on each side and ended up with a nice snug fit. 

It wasn't that hard so I think some of the Internet fuss is a bit much at times. That said we are paying a lot and it doesn't seem too much to ask for a set of tracks that fit! The tracks on the Sicarian are built into the chassis which looks great still and hasn't got the hassle - I think this is the way to go for FW tanks. 

2. Fitting chasis to track units

This is fitting the main body of the tank to the sides. The main body of the tank comes in three pieces (top, bottom, rear) leaving the sides open. The sides are large pieces of resin and fit with grooves onto the main body o the tank. Problem is the shape of my main body was different to the grooves of the side pieces. It took a lot of cutting and slicing to get them to fit together. Then some serious filling with milliput to tidy up the gaps. 

Watch out for this if you are building. The position I glued the pieces in was a contributing factor but ultimately the resin sections were not aligned as they came out of the box.

In the end the tank goes together beautifully and it looks stunning when finished.

Ultimately the tank reflects its namesake; it is tough to put together, can wound you badly and doesn't go down without a fight! 

I will keep you posted on progress and the appraoches I am using, happy modelling!

Update from Dave:
To add to Rich's update above, I have been working furiously on my own Spartan.

To reiterate Rich's comments about the tracks, they are a bit of a bugger to fit. You dry fit them and they look great, then you come to stick them they miraculously change configuration! Nothing a hairdryer, a hobby knife and a bit of green-stuff can't fix, but it still took time. I think FW have re-built the mould so that the tracks are cast on to the chassis now, which should remove that headache and about an hour of build time.

To be honest, the bit I found most annoying was the cables for the lascannons. These have to be heated and bent in to position whilst sticking them. I've put two Spartans together now and had at least 4 cables stuck to my fingers with superglue!!

Anyway, once you've powered through these issues, the tank looks amazing! It's huge! These are my new transports of choice. What else will get 20 space marines into battle unscathed?!

Anyway, I have been painting away. This challenge has really motivated me to get it painted. Below is a picture of the tank at the end of week one. I have base coated and applied a two-stage dry-brushed highlight so far. Rich prefers his airbrush, which looks great, but at this moment I have nowhere to set one up so am staying old skool!

Anyway, that's all for now, thanks for reading.
 

The Spartan Challenge - for Sparta!!!

Dave and I have challenged ourselves to complete one new unit for our next game set for 19th March.
Looking through our workbenches we both had a Spartan that needed to be brought into battle readiness so the game is afoot!

The challenge is to complete a Spartan tank each in the next 61 days - easy eh? Well these things are never easy when kids and work are involved and in my case a house move in February! Nevertheless the challenge is set, keep checking back on our progress. We will post up our work with a description of the techniques or approaches we are using.

We have both already built our tanks and primed them. Dave's has started with a chaos black base and mine is airbrushed with Vallejo Primer and based with Vallejo Yellow Gold. Our first posts will include some thoughts on the build job for a spartan and why we chose our respective primers as a base.

The clock is ticking...61 days to see who is Leonidis and who is swimming at the bottom of a well!

The Emperor's Champion: the beginning

A love of modelling...

Can you remember what got you into the world of Warhammer 40k? For me it's a long time ago, but I can still remember the hooks. It was never one thing, more a series of things I loved combining.

The recent GW birthday party at Warhammer World Reminded me one of the key ingredients that drew me into this world as I spent two great hours with my son and Dave building a mini-diorama with Space Marine and Ork sprues.

Creating an epic battle that had nothing to do with army lists or allowable weapon combinations brought us back (aided by a 7 year old) to the fun and excitement I felt when first starting the hobby and I really want to have a go at a serious diorama, for entry into Golden Daemon.

It got me thinking about what inspired me aged 14 to pick up the hobby.  I grew up building and painting airfix WW2 aircraft, my room was full of hurricanes, me109s, Heinkel 111s and my favourite the Mosquito bomber. I had got about as good as I could at that stage- there was nowhere I could learn more and even though I enjoyed the modelling and painting my models were just gathering dust once I had hung them from the ceiling and after all that effort I wanted them to have more purpose.

Around the same time my Dad bought this book.

 

It's an amazing book, kinda like the FW Model Masterclass books. It was full of advanced modelling kit and skills and inspired me to do more. One problem though, it was all too expensive for me and so I would wait another 17 years to fulfil the ambition of trying this stuff out!

Age 14, I loved modelling and painting, sci-fi novels, Elite (computer game), and Tolkien. Imagine my amazement when looking at another kids White Dwarf magazine and discovering someone had merged all of these into a sci-fi, Middle earth in space, that required hobbying and painting, and after all that "it was a game"?!! I couldn't believe my luck. My first WD below...

I remember my first inspirations were to build dioramas of the scenes I loved but that was out of reach financially and I had forgotten this inspiration until we picked up the sprues at Warhammer World a couple of weeks ago.

Over the past few years I have dabbled with dioramas but the draw of building an army always won out. Below is a gun nest I built atop a chimera - a small diorama if you like.

I really feel inspired again to try a diorama - but it's gonna be a while before I am ready so I will target 2017 golden daemon unbound category and see if I can at least get shortlisted.

I am off to do some research now on building a diorama, more on this in the future...

 

The Emperor's Champion