Grey Knights 5-man Strike Squad COMPLETE!

Well, after another long hiatus from here I am back with some completed work (FINALLY!)

I present to you, a trio of semi-poor quality pics of my first 5-man strike squad. This is a big accomplishment for me, considering I have never completed painting a full "box" of anything prior to this.

Even so, they are still not technically complete as I have to varnish them for safety, plus put some static grass on the bases and decide what I want to write on their shoulder plates and banner icons.

I would feel an even bigger sense of accomplishment if I didn't go out and buy another box of 5 a few weeks back, meaning I am still left with the same amount of models left to finish painting.

Without further ado, the pics (More pics after the jump):

Painting Tutorial #1: Introduction & Materials

After a pretty long break from painting, I got back into it recently and started the long task of getting my force painted up. Until now, I had only primed a few models, and had been honing my painting skills by painting the interior of my Rhino/Razorback. Looking back, I DID paint a test figure earlier this year using an old metal GKSS figure, but I found it was a bit too bright for my liking and put off painting the rest until now.

In any case, I have decided to put together some tutorials to help others in their path to improve their painting skills.

Hills Terrain WIP #1

In addition to the Imperial Sector, I used some white styrofoam to carve out a few hills for terrain. I like some designs more than others, but they will all make do for now. They are based on plasticard, and covered with a slightly grainy wood filler. I still need to add some more rocks and rubble to add a bit of texture before priming and painting.

 

More hills after the break.

Imperial Sector WIP #1

As promised, here are some WIP shots of my buildings. I spent a lot of time searching other people's creations to get inspiration - there are lots of amazing projects out there!

My goal was to create a good variety of pieces, and have some that can be used in a modular fashion to add variety to the tabletop. The shots below showcase the basic skeleton of each building - I plan on adding lots of debris and rubble, as well as some bits such as discarded weapons, etc.

Eventually I will mount each piece on hardboard for stability and to delineate area terrain if it is used as such.

Sanctum Imperialis:

This building set came with 3 Sprues which I used to make 2 buildings. The main building closely mimics the "standard" template for the Sanctum, with a few minor changes. I wanted to give this building a more substantial second floor, as well as putting few windows on the main floor to block line of sight.

The smaller building was created painstakingly with some greenstuff to create the 45-degree angles. It reminded me how piss-poor I am at using greenstuff, and the interior joints will have to be covered with some girder bitz provided by the kits. That said, I do like how it turned out, and the fact that its entrance is on an angle to the rest of the buildings will hopefully add some character to my city.

The Productive Hiatus

It's been quite a while since I've written anything, but that is not to say I have been neglecting the hobby - quite the opposite, in fact.

In the last 3 or so months, I have purchased and assembled a Dark Vengeance box (I needed templates and wanted a portable rulebook, plus the models are quite nice as well so I figured it was a great value).

Also, I was lucky enough to find an Imperial Sector box online (with 20% off of GW price, no less) and so I am now the proud owner of some ruined city terrain! (WIP pics in another post)