Monday, October 31, 2016

ValleCon 2017

Once again the Pasadena Modelers' Club in cooperation with the Petersen Automotive Museum will be hosting this year's ValleyCon. Currently slated for Sunday March 5th, this scale model competition is unlike many others. Competitor's models sit on illuminated tables among some of the world's most coveted automobiles.

Keep an eye out for further details but last year the entry fee was $15 was which included 10 models and entry to the museum. All day parking is $12 and vendors will be on site as well.

As you can see from this year's logo modelers of the 40k community are not only welcomed but encouraged! The showing for the Sci-Fi categories is quite impressive. I hope to see some of you there! Check out the link below for some pics from last year's show.

Previous Posts

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Ork Hunter



The first member of my Ordos Xenos Inquisitorial retinue is finished. I also took the time to complete a display base for him as I intend to take him around to the next round of model shows. He was created by combining some Victoria Miniatures legs with a Maxmini head and torso and Games Workshop arms, auto-gun, and scabbard along with a lot of green stuff.


I completed a couple of changes to him since my last post. Here you can see that he received a Mohawk. After some deliberation I also decided that he needed rolled up sleeves so I rolled out some green stuff and added those too.


After the sleeves had set,I put his pauldrons back in place and finished painting him using mostly Army Painter and Tamiya acrylics. 

I really wanted to create a nice display for this model but I didn't want him tied down to it. It was designed so that the 25mm base in the center would magnetize into the display but could be easily removed for game play.

I debated for a while about what type of base design I wanted, jungle, alien, industrial. Whatever it was it would have to applicable to the rest of my upcoming Ordo Xenos/Deathwatch Army. I finally settled on an industrial/ship deck theme which would apply well to a Space Hulk type feel. 

The display itself was crafted from a discarded dice box, some polystyrene and a casting of an Inquisition icon.


Not only is there a magnet on the top of the display, but also one inside so that the figure can be placed inside the safety of the dice box during transport.


The display was primed in black the top and the icon were dry brushed in a 1:1 mix of Army Painter gun metal and flat black. Army Painter and craft paints were used to finish out the icon. Gold and bronze were used for the 'I', Red and Valejo Hot Orange for the inside of the 'I', various off white craft paints for the skull, and a wash of soft tone to bring it all together.


The edge of the step was masked off and primed black again, and yellow hazard stripes were airbrushed on. Airbrush is the only way I've found to get a yellow worth a damn.



The hazard stripes were aged with a sponging of flat black and gun metal. After the display and base were done the figure was pined and added to the base.








Previous Posts

Monday, October 24, 2016

So Much Armor, So Little Time


The plastic crack addiction can get overwhelming at times. As I get part way through one project I can get board which sends me off on another tangent beginning new projects. 9 works-in-progress for my Pardus 8th Armored Regiment. Two Wyverns, my Ontos pattern Hydra, three Leman Russ, two Salamanders, and a Destroyer. I'd like to say that wrapping this up is my next project but with Modelzona only 2 weeks away, ScorpFest in January and ValleyCon in March I'll be hard pressed to get much work in on these as new projects are bound to pop up. 

My baby steps going forward are to complete the assembly of these nine, and at least get them all base coated in the Pardus scheme. 

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Friday, October 21, 2016

Facebook


The Artist of War now has a presence on Facebook. Please stop by and like the page, or follow on Blogger, to keep informed of the most recent posts coming from The Artist of War.


Thursday, October 20, 2016

Frazetta's Death Dealer Comes to Life

My favorite artist of all time is hands down Frank Frazetta. A print of his iconic Death Dealer painting hangs proudly on my office wall. Kabuki Studios has brought the Death Dealer to life in both 1/50th and 1/24th scale resin.

This project is being launched through a Kickstarter campaign. Don't miss your chance to get in on this amazing model!


Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Ork Deff Dread "El Huevo Muerto"

Since the last post I applied a once over of burnt sienna oil paint. That was rubbed off with an old rag. Then I applied a loose wash of black and brown oil paints to the bolts, gears, and joints. After that had dried I covered the model in Testors Dullcote. I then applied clear gloss Tamiya paints to the the lens in the center hatch. Mig Jimenez fuel stain was added to all the pistons and joints. The model was glued to the base and the legs and feet were dusted with some Secret Weapon Miniatures powder.

A very brave Catachan Sergeant stands by for scale.



All I had on hand were 25mm and 60mm bases, both were too small. So I made this 80mm base from a double layer of polystyrene and PVC foam board cut to shape and chamfered the edge with a hobby knife.


The Easter egg was textured using a rotary tool. I'm quite happy with the combination of the texture, Rub 'n Buff and washes/oils. I think its really believable as metal.


 A Tamiya 1/35th scale oil drum was attached to the back of the Easter egg as part of the engine/exhaust system. The exhaust pipe was made from polystyrene tube. The elbow is a bendy drinking straw with polystyrene tube on the ends.

 The front hatch was cast from a mold of a chimera front hatch. The weld lines were all created by rolling a thin sausage of green stuff, gluing it in place around the hatch and pressing the lines in with a dental tool and/or back of a hobby blade.

 All the hoses were made with the Green Stuff Industries  Tentacle Maker. The saw blade is polystyrene sandwiched between two brass gears from the craft store. The rest of the arm is polystyrene with a large bead at the shoulder joint. All the brass couplings were treated with a three color patina wash.

 The claw is all polystyrene and it moves. The grease in the joint is from Mig Jimenez

 Part of each leg is a chopped up piston from an IG dozer blade. The rest is polystyrene, a small spring, and a bb and large bead for ball bearings.

The big shoota' is made from polystyrene and a casting of a Gatling cannon I also scratch built and molded some time back for my Imperial Guard.

Previous Posts
WIP - Deff Dread #2

Monday, October 17, 2016

WIP - Deff Dread #2

A lot of additional details were added since the last post. I had to find a way to mount a big shoota'. I switched out one of the pauldrons and also threw in an antenna for good measure. 






 All the joints and pistons on this model were constructed to actually move. Although many were glued into place for practical purposes, the claw still opens and closes.


 At this step the model was base coated in flat black primer. Rub 'n Buff was applied over the model making sure to allow the natural shadows to pop.

 Here I've done quite a bit more detail painting and added many layers of wash. I was careful to apply different washes to different pieces to help sell the story that it had been constructed using scrap.

More washes, more paint. I added a coat of bright red over the main section of carapace. I used the salt technique to help me distress and chip the paint. I also learned that Rub 'n Buff has a natural quality to it which allows you to easily scratch acrylic paint off making a similar effect to that of the hairspray technique. My last step here was to apply a gloss coat in preparation for oils to be applied the next day.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

For Sale - Catachan Leman Russ

I need to make way on my shelf for more of my Pardus 8th Armored Regiment so I am selling off my Leman Russ. It has a custom made barrel which can be swapped out for either a standard Battle Cannon, Punisher Gatling Cannon, or Demolisher Cannon. If interested stop by the listing on ebay and give it a look. I hope it finds a good home.









Previous Posts

Friday, October 14, 2016

ModelZona 2016


For those living in and around the Phoenix Metro area ModelZona 2016 is only a few weeks away. Come show off your modeling skills in the competition, find some great buys in the swap meet or spend the day checking out the awesome works of others!

Monday, October 3, 2016

WIP - Deff Dread #1

Opportunity is all around us. There's all kinds of materials available for using in your next scratch build project. After building my Ork Egg Dakkajet I thought I'd continue the egg theme and picked up a bag of easter egg shells. At first I had planned on making some killa kans but the eggs I bought were more on the line of the Deff Dread so that's what I decided to build. Here's what I've accomplished so far.







I'm not completely sure about the rockit launcha' and I need to find a place to put a big shoota. I also need to add some more rivets, bolts, and some more green stuff weld lines.