All posts tagged: hq

Converting the Orruk Megaboss into a Death Skulls Warboss

Ork Warboss (Orruk Megaboss Conversion) Showcase

Published by Joe B

This week I finished my Ork Warboss for my Death Skulls tribe. He is an Orruk Megaboss conversion with just a few minor conversions to bring him into the 40k universe. Here is the final showcase and some notes on the conversions themselves. Ork Warboss When the Orruk Megaboss was released, I knew I needed to convert one for my Ork Warband. Just over a year back, I posted my unboxing thoughts and ideas for the conversion. The work continued off and on for the last year in bursts. But here he is at last, my Orruk Megaboss conversion into an Ork Warboss. One of the final additions I made was the larger base, thanks to an indirect prompting from NafNaf. I had originally posed him on a 40mm base from Secret Weapon Miniatures. But felt it needed to be bigger and have more height. The Tyranid skull was also a later addition that I had planned on doing once I glued the front bit into place. I had left it off to paint his …

Orks in Progress and Hobby on the Couch

Published by Joe B

There is nothing as satisfying as painting Orks. Ok, there are plenty of things that are more satisfying, BUT they are a blast to paint. Especially when done on the couch with a glass of whiskey. As a way to restore some hobby time from the sprint that was Dreadtober, I’ve been working on a couple of the Orks that have been lingering in the Closet of Doom (TM Mordian7th). The simple and crude nature of Orks makes them quick to paint and rather fun. I also wanted somethingÂ I could work on while watching movies with the family. It’s how I painted a bunch of the Tyranids before and figured why can’t Orks watch a flick or two as well? Megaboss When I saw the Orruk Megaboss I knew I needed one for my growing Ork hoard. That is something as I haven’t had a ‘must buy’ impulse for new miniatures in a while. At the time I did an unboxing video and some rough ideas on how I would turn him into a 40k …

Orruk Megaboss Unboxing

Published by Joe B

I am probably not alone in wanting the new Orruks when the leaks spread a month back. I mean, they are huge, they look mean as nails, and (to me at least) are the coolest kits released for Age of Sigmar. With that said, I pre-ordered only the Orruk Megaboss (for now!) with the goal of turning him into my 40k Ork Warboss. But as I’m starting to play with video posts, I figured an unboxing video was needed for this beast of a kit. I took the advice from my first video and made this one shorter and improved the audio. The OrrukÂ Megaboss is a Beast! So the big thing to note on this guy is that he is huge! He fills in a 60mm base and wears it well. Height wise, he is a head taller than the Assault on Black Reach Warboss and easily twice as thick. As I’ll mention in the assembly section,Â he’s able to achieve this bulk by being hollow. This allows the model to bulk out without being a …

Iron Warriors Warpsmith

Published by Joe B

Another of my photo updates, this time, my Iron Warriors Warpsmith. I had posted an original review of the Finecast model here, as this was my first experience with the experiment by GW. When the Warpsmith was released, I loved the new look of the Chaos Space Marines and the demon engines – though they are a bit dino-ie. One of the things I like about the Warpsmith is the motion and three dimensions the tentacles give the model. It is something that many of the older TechmarineÂ models lacked due to the metal bits and old processes requiring the pieces be thicker and clunkier. Even the back of the model is full of cool little bits such as the different types of tubing and connections. You can just imagine this guy sitting is some crazy throne controlling his demon engine minions. It also gave me a spot to add some of the iconic yellow chevrons and even a bit of the purple demon flesh. The inner glow on the smoke stack and skulls was a …

Iron Warriors Sorcerer

Published by Joe B

Haven’t picked up the brush much this week, so I figured I would post another of my older models. Timing is fitting considering I just finished my Mentor Legion Librarians. Another classic sculpt, this metal Chaos model painted up as Iron Warriors Sorcerer has been part of my collection for probably 15 years – crap that makes me feel old. Anyway, of all the four chaos deities,Â Tzeentch has always been my favorite both from a story and model perspective, so it was only fitting that the 14th Grand Company’s representative be of the Great Schemer’s ilk. It also adds a great way to experiment with additional colors in an otherwise drab looking army. I mean, no one picks the Iron Warriors for an army based on the cool, vibrant paint scheme. While I have itched the color bug over the years with the multitude of other armies, I always come back to my original favorite. Its also fun to come back to this classic sculpts as a reminder of how fantastic we have it now. …

Mentor Legion Librarius

Published by Joe B

This weekend I finished my Mentor Legion Librarius built out of converted and kit-bashed models for each Librarian. First up is Austu Jorimund, who is among the most aggressive of the Mentor Legion’s Librarians. The model is a small conversion from the Dark Angles Master,Â Balthasar from the Dark Vengence set. A simple head swap, added psychic hood, and removal of the Dark Angles symbols. The original model is such a fantastic pose that I didn’t want to change too much. The very large sword was a challenge to paint the crackling yellow power weapon look, and I’m not completely happy with it. The second Librarian,Â Inae Janykchim, is based off of the Assault on Black Reach Captain. Both arms were swapped out and I built the staff from parts from the AdMech Iron Strider’s lance and a Chaos Knight’s mace. I believe the book on the back is from the amazing Flagellants kit. The transfers were done using the Forge World Raptors sheet and painted over with the reds. Robed space marines have just a cool …

Mentor Legion Librarius WIP

Published by Joe B

So life is getting back to the new normal again, started a new job, our house sale has closed, and we can start looking for a house to buy. In the mean time I took the inspiration left in my last update post and started building out a Librarius from the new Space Marine codex. I already converted the Librarian from the Dark Vengeance kit, and while I considered buying the new models from GW, IÂ decided that it would be much more enjoyable to hack together my own from bits on hand. First up was the Dark Angels Company Master,Â Balthasar in his striking robes and huge sword. Fairly straight forward on this guy as I just removed the DA insignia from the robes and gauntlets, replaced his head, and added a Psychic Hood from the archives of From the Warp. The head is from the Centurion kit but couldn’t tell you where the back ordainment came from. Librarian number two was originally the Ultramarine captain from the Assault on Black Reach set. I didn’t like …

Mentor Legion Company Command Squad for the Second Company

Published by Joe B

I have completed my Mentor Legion Company Command Squad led by the Master of the Watch, CaptainÂ Rothn Ryn. At one point Games Workshop released a four-pack of the ‘masters,’ four metal space marine captains that created an Apocalypse formation (before the current formation styles). This is the Captain of the Second Company, the Master of the Watch with subtle conversions such as the helmeted head and winged skull on the backpack. The Master of the Watch is responsible for the protection of the Fortress MonasteryÂ and the chapter’s relics. As such he is armed for defense with his storm shield and symbolic key to the keep. There is just something about Space Marines with capes. One of the cool things about the Mentor Legion is their vague background and history of working with other chapters. So when I was reading through the Space Marine codex for ideas on how to build out my chapter, I liked the idea of using the different chapter characters as baselines for each captain. Being armed with a storm shield and …

Mentor Legion Command Squad WIP

Published by Joe B

I normally don’t like posting work in progress shots as the in between steps can be a bit embarrassing for me. After watching prodigious posters such as Moridan7th or Greggles share every step, it made me more confident to go ahead with my own. So after unpacking the first project I threw my self into was finally working on my Mentor Legion Command Squad. I built these guys up a few years back to leadÂ my ‘side project’ of Mentors into a full blown company. Step One – Primer The models were primed black with white over spray. I have found this to be the best balance between creating deep shadows and being able to paint lighter colors. Step Two – Base Colors Next up all the base colors were blocked in. I like the block-in, wash, highlight steps as they help me see where the model is going and provide nice incentive to finish the model once the wash is in place. The colors I used for each block: Green: Caliban Green White: Pallid Wych …

Tyranid Broodlord of Hive Fleet Behemoth

Published by Joe B

So one of the main selling points of Games Workshop’s limited edition Deathstorm box set was the special edition Broodlord. Much like the one in the Space Hulk box, this guy is huge and way cooler looking than the old metal model. He is painted up for Hive Fleet Behemoth to go along with the other monsters from beyond the stars on my shelf. I think the dark red skin gives him a kind of bloody rage which is in contrast to the cool blues of his carapace. The base was one of the first of the new, smaller oval bases that GW put out to mess with all of us, but I like it. It fits the model much better than trying to fit it on a 40mm circle base and helps emphasis his movement forward in a way. Another cool aspect of this Broodlord is the Tyranid Spire he is leaping off of. Not only does it give this impressively huge genestealer more height but it adds more to the story of the …

Traitor Guard Command Company

Published by Joe B

At the very twisted heart of the Traitor Guard is the Command Company. From here the villainous orders can be issued forth and enemy armies sundered. — lets get real here, the IG Command Company squad is an extremely fragile piece of work, they usually ride around in their Chimera issuing orders and avoiding getting shot, but they look darn cool doing it. To keep the ride moving, and because who doesn’t like AdMech we have Dark Mechanicus Tech Priest joining the team. Whats great about the Ad Mech guys is that they already look really sinister, so just adding a simple chaos star servo skull was all that was needed. I added some object source lighting on both his front facing lamp and the glowing energy source on his back. Another sinister looking model with very little work needed was this Inquisitor model turned company commander. In fact they only thing I did was remove the [==|==] from his chest. Clearly he isn’t a very good what-you-see model, as the IG can’t just upgrade …

Fabius Bile painted up for the Iron Warriors

Fabius Bile – a Classic in Iron Warriors Style

Published by Joe B

An oldie but a goody, Fabius Bile is a Games Workshop classic that I’ve had in my collection for over 15Â years (crap that makes me sound old!). He has gone through a couple of iterations of paint schemes and his ‘enhanced’ warriors are backÂ into bitsÂ pile in my closet, but I present the latest update to the classic. I wanted to pay some homage to his origins as a Emperor’s Children apothecary but still fit in with my Iron Warriors 14th Grand Company, so the armor was painted a dirty white and the shoulder pads black and silver. The flayed skin robe helps create the morbid color offset by the brightly colorful vials. I’ve seen Fabius Bile’s ChirurgeonÂ used on so many crazy conversions for great reason: they are epicly gruesome. Between the chain blade, drill, butcher knife and syringe, it makes even a Ork Doc cringe. I wanted to give the backpack an old, worn look but still have it flashy as any Emperor’s Children would have it. Game wise, the newest edition of the codex …