2015. A Year in Review

    

Rolling for Happy New year!

 Where oh where has this year gone? Seems like only yesterday we were starting up a new year. This year has seen a lot of change in me. Memories were made, friends were made and lost, and the world turned daily. As we continue towards 2016, we here at Behind the Lines Gaming would like to wish you a Happy New Year.  At the beginning of the year we had promised to promote big news to you all. I can safely say that this big news is coming in 2016 so be on the look out and keep checking back!

2015 saw many new additions to my rooster. At the beginning I had just started on my Victoria Lamb based Tanith First and Only army. This army has rapidly expanded and grown in size!  Now numbering 100+ models, the final additions of a few female Verghast is planned for 2016 once they are released.

The Tau army that has been posted here throughout the year is also currently in major WiP mode. A few models and squads have been done. Those will be posted in 2016 as well. The Menoth army is back together again and primed ready for paint. 2015 might as well have been the year of stripping paint. Hopefully these new schemes of paint will improve the models and make them look even better!

As always we plan to do a Top three projects we have done this year. Located Here, the Gallery is a page dedicated to the Top work on completed models we've done each year.Give it a look and let us know what you think!

#1 as always was a hard choice this year. All of the models have been fun to work on and paint. However the winner was a commission given to me by Bandogora. This commission was for a Company command squad of the Bloody 18th Krieg Regiment.  Not only did I get some awesome artwork out of it from Kurt Mertz but the army was one that had a feel to it unlike any other ive painted!

Below are a few images from the Rise of the Bloody 18th post I posted throughout the year!

With the 18th came Krieger 18D. This krieger has been Bandogora's Dark Heresy Character and plays a critical part in the formation of the 18th. What secrets and history lays behind the gas mask are still yet to be known, however the Emperor, or maybe the Chaos gods have given a very special fate to this Krieger. All of that remains to be seen.

The company command squad was some of the most fun I had painting. Using their uniquely blue and red scheme, these models seemed to "pop" on the battlefield allowing them to look both uniquely grim dark, but also well done. These models were in rough shape and it was clear that who ever had owned them before hand had not taken care of them. This was not about to happen on my watch. After a lot of TLC, I was able to get them back to how they should have been all along. Ready to die on the battlefield for the Emperor!

This back view of the models shows their uniquely done backpacks. Forgeworld is always know its for wonderful models and these did not disappoint. A lot of time was given to the smallest of details. This is why they became my favorite project of 2015!

#2 was a easier choice to make, This project was one that will be seeing action this coming year in 2016!  My own take on the Panzer III tank from a chimera. This model was a lot of work to convert and took some time and effort. After a lot of glue, sweat and pain, the model was finally together and I was pleased with the end results.

Not the prettiest of jobs at the moment but when it comes time for primer and paint i think she'll do nicely. Im hoping that I will be able to convert it fully for a second one of these tanks. When that is accomplished then I should finally be able to get the model fully. It has to be noted that the treads were the hardest part of the whole conversion. Maybe I'll try to do a tutorial on my second one should I get the time. 

My third favorite project of the year was not really a model per say but was a aid for the game. This project took only a few hours but it was a lot of fun making them in order to help me better play in 40k. Of course what im talking about is my own custom designed cards that i made for Imperial Guard orders and warlord traits. 

Any good guard commander knows that it is vital to use your orders right and have them ready to use when you get to the game. These cards were made using the magic card game custom card creator. A nifty little program that allowed for me to fully customize my army cards on the battlefield. This set was a customized set for the program from the Star Gate series of card game. I ordered some card holders to place them in! Some people had expressed interest in them. Therefore I plan to make a free version for people to download if they wish. In the future I plan to add Stormtroopers, cadian traits and others onto this list. 

As the year comes to a close I wish to thank my loyal readers and those who follow me. It makes writing these post easier knowing that some people read them and enjoy the content of them.If you like what you see please become a follower of the blog or leave a comment below! Every little bit helps

With that I wish you the best in this ending to 2015 and a happy start to 2016! Keep rolling those dice and stay tuned for many new exciting things to come in 2016! 

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Two Commissars walk into a bar and......

Col. Commissar Ibram Gaunt

Finished painted model

This has been a post a long time (we're talking early February?) coming.

Here we have three of the most famous Tanith First and Only Characters. First off we start with the man himself, Ibram Gaunt!

This model was ordered from Brother Vinni's Sci fi line. The model arrived from the Russian Federation and I immediately wanted to paint it and put it together. After cleaning it in a wash of water and soap, I put it together and started working on the famous Colonel-Commissar himself. Like all of my Tanith models, I tried to keep Gaunt as close to the book description and art as I could.

This model seemed to gather a lot of discussion about it due to its color choices. That stuff has already been mentioned in a previous article, hence why i wont go into it here. Needless to say, it turned out perfectly fine for how I wanted it to be. I still intend to add some Longbeard Grey dry paint to the base but otherwise the model is done.

In one of my recent games, Gaunt was able to kill a necron tomb lord on his last wound with the bolt pistol. It was roll worthy of the heroic commissar

Commissar Hark? or Ludd?  Not sure yet

The next model is another commissar model again by Brother Vinni! This model was suppose to be Commissar Cain from the Commissar Cain series but I instead used him as a stand in for either Hark or Ludd. Im not sure yet. The model was washed and put together. The paint scheme was similar to how Gaunt turned out.

This model has not seen much play but was a fun model to put together. With another Commissar ordered from Madrobotminiatures, I hope to finally decided on if this is Ludd or Hark. What do you think my fellow readers?

Finally we have our last model from Brother Vinni. Known as the "Heavy Gunner" on his website, this model was a perfect stand in for "try again" Bragg. This model was a bit of a pain to put together but in the end, was probably my most successful model. The knee pads and the details added a large flavor to the model allowing him to feel like the gentle giant that Bragg is described as in the books. Even though he will always have his BS 2 shooting (at least in the tanith codex i use), Bragg remains one of my favorite characters from the series.  Everyone who's read the series know what fate befalls this hero. Hopefully this model does the character pride.

"Try Again" Bragg

With this article, I can finally finish up my backlog of articles I had planned to do over the months. I think from now on I will instead take them one at a time. As the year draws closer to a end, I intend to start working on updating the site for 2016. What would you like to see on here? What new details should we add. In the future, we hope to add a few guest articles from Pwnzilla, Bandogora and others.

Keep checking back!

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Product Review: AnotherWorld Miniatures

bare model after being put together

...And now we're back with another Product Review!

Today, we are focusing on AnotherWorld Miniatures "Witch Hunter" model. This metal model comes in 28mm scale, perfect for battles in the grim dark future. She also looks like a certain inquistior from a fairly popular RTS game set in the grim future, perfect for what I wanted her for!

 The model arrived in a little over two weeks time from Italy and was in three separate pieces (Sword arm, Model, and base)

Next to her Forge World bodyguards

After putting it together, I got the first image seen here, up and then placed her next to some forge world Elysians. Next to Forge World models her proportions seemed about right but if you were to place her next to a GW model she would seem very small. This is not a fault of the company but due to the "heroic" proportions of GW models. I think if she were to be placed next to models from different companies she wouldnt stand out so bad.

Fully painted up

Overall the sculpt is very well done and the detail is nice. The model was a joy to paint and the company has since expanded their own line with other types of models. One of the biggest problems though is seen in the picture below. Her sword is very very thin! Too often I have worried about the model breaking in half on the sword arm due to the war she is holding it. It is also a bit of a pain to get her to fit perfectly in any case that you may want her to fit in. I would suggest placing her on her back with the sword pointed down in the case. This would give it the less likely chance of breaking off.

Also since this company does limited runs of resin models, It is a pain for those that prefer resin over metal.  Overall, I would highly suggest the model if you are looking for a good female inquisitor model. If you are looking for good figures in general, I would also recommend them though I would try to get the resin models before they are out of print if possible!

Until next time!

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Tanith Scouts & Snipers....

Where oh where has the time gone?

It seems only yesterday I was starting on this blog post working towards my first platoon of my new Tanith Army. Now its November! What have I been up to you ask?

 Well, first off time has gotten away from me as I have been working on my masters degree. School has formed a large part of my life and kept me up many a night. Secondly, I got a job working at a nearby place. Even though the extra money has been very nice, it has killed my hobby time. Such are the sacrifices of life.

So what do I have for you today? Well we have a couple of shots of my Tanith Snipers. These models were ordered off of Ebay as rescue jobs and stripped in LA's totally awesome. They were then primed and given a new paint job. This brings my total sniper count up to 8. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

I had meant to post these way back during the summer but time got in the way. I've had these sitting in my queue since June.

 The models were painted in the traditional colors of the Tanith First and Only with tattoos added in after the models were finished. Just like the Tanith Trooper and scout seen here, the models have been kept as true to the lore as possible. One addition I have recently added was using the Citadel Dry paint "Longbeard Grey" to go gently over the astrogranite texture paint. This addition to the models bases really helps to highlight the face that they are fighting on the battlefields.

So whats next you ask? Well Ive been working on the Tanith and Verghast models to help flesh out the army. I also have started to repaint my tau forces with the release of the new 7th Edition Codex. This new codex seems to have offered exciting new options to Tau players. Also in the works is BIG news that I am hoping to share with you all soon. At the beginning of the year, I had writtern that this news was to be placed throughout the year. Although ive been mentioning it, I havent been able to talk about it just yet.

Rest assured that everything has been progressing as we had hoped and the lack of writing has seen a greater number of feedback and work being done in regards to this project.

Hopefully as the year draws to a close I can keep you all up to date with not only my Tanith project, but also my tau and my warmachine Menoth army.

Until next time!

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Wargaming and Attitude discussion

This has been a topic that I've been heavily considering writing on a for a while. In the course of painting models, a few topics came up the other day on one of my recent pictures posted online. The paint job in general was considered "unfinished" , "Just primer" and "Shit" by many that commented on it.

First off, let me make something clear. This is not a whining post! 

This is a discussion on how we as war gamers are not always welcoming to others that might wish to join in on our hobby of plastic soldiers (No matter the system!) When I posted the picture I never imaged the hatred I would receive from people that were looking to either boost their own egos or put down others. The worst part was that this was a group of gamers that I frequented often. This group has a wonderful membership but the fact remains that people will begin to feel uncomfortable posting their own models if they are only going to get told that their work sucks.

Over the course of the last few days I have been watching the group. In that time I've painted a few more models here and there. Detailed a few and enjoyed painting. However I am hesitant to show anyone my work. If I, a veteran painter and player am hesitant to post my work, how must a new player feel watching the community tear itself apart over one or two "bad" paint jobs. This is unacceptable.

Primer or Paint? Can you tell the difference?
side note: This was not the model in the discussion

The facts remain on those models. First off, it was not "just primer" or "unfinished". There were two coats of paint and two different washes on there for just the body alone. The rest of the model was covered in colors ranging from golds to grey. Secondly, anytime you call somebody's work "shit" or "unfinished", please realize that you are not adding anything to the conversation. A more helpful attitude would have been to suggest a way to better the model or talk about what the positives of the model were.  Thirdly, if the model in question is not one that you like or feel is to YOUR standards, instead of posting on it, leave it alone. It cost you nothing. I will be the first to admit that I am not a class A+ painter. However, this was shockingly below the average post quality of the group in question.


So what can we do to encourage people to post their work and not feel judged? Be welcoming for starters. Encourage people to show off your work and give helpful, good advice on what they can do. Be friendly, even if it is the internet, people still want to feel good about their models they put time into. "The Thin your paints!" and "My eyes drill your barrels" post are funny but tried memes at this point. Offer painting tips to new painters and new players alike. Finally, realize that people paint to their own standards. What might be "Unfinished" to your eyes might be a new timers "master piece".


I hope these ideas and topics encourage you to think about your own painting. If you got anything to add post in the comments below!

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All in the Squad: Part 2

Sarge, Cutter, Twitch, Doc, and Nubby

So Ive been meaning to write this post for a while now. This was my first attempt at the All Guardsmen Party as done by Shoggy on TG. Seen here are all the characters done up in their fully painted glory.

This squad consisted of Sarge, Cutter, Tink, Nubby, Doc, and Twitch. After finishing these models I was contacted by Shoggy who told me that he liked the models and was happy someone had done them up in model form.

 This project to me was one of most fun projects Ive done in a while. It allowed me to have some creativity with the standard Cadian models while the paint jobs allowed for me to customize each member of the squad. However, these models were traded off almost as soon as they were done for some custom art work. Regretting this decision, I decided to start another 10 man squad.

 This time I wanted to do the FULL ALL GUARDSMEN PARTY as best as I could. This project consisted of Sarge, Tink, Cutter, Doc, Nubby, Twitch, Spots the wonder drone, Heavy, Fumbles the pysker and Crisp. Time permitting I intend to fully paint up the squad (again) and get them playing on the table top. A few weeks ago I got to take the new squad out for a test spin. Needless to say they were whipped out to a man but fought hard against the traitors. Still a valiant effort on their part and bad luck due to the dice.

Hopefully there will be more to add soon. This new project is on hold as Im trying to balance my time with the Tanith, Tau, Inquisitional forces and my Warmachine Army (Menoth).

Its always been my hope to expand this blog and allow for other games besides 40k to be posted here. Hopefully soon that idea will be realized. Till next time. Keep rolling those dice....

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March on Tanith, March on.... (Part 1)

New Fresh Recruits in the resin

So where have I been these past few months? Well after the end of the semester came I found out I passed my classes and will be starting my thesis. This great news meant that I will be able to start on the final road to earning my Master's Degree in History.

In the mean time I've been putting together this giant pile of resin and priming it to get started. These photos and this post have been waiting for months to get posted. However, the timing was never right till now.

Whats in the Box?

These photo's were day 1 photos of my big project for 2015. A brand new 100% Victoria Lamb and 3rd party Imperial Guard army. Having gotten this project assembled. I decided to take it slowly making this army my baby. Even the Phantine troopers have gotten redone in order to make sure everything is up to standard as I want it. Sometimes I wonder if its just me who wants to make a perfect, true to lore army or if others want to do it with their forces too.

Test Scheme

My next step is to start working slowly on rebuilding this army to its former glory. One of the biggest opportunities is that Victoria Lamb's female guard allow for me to get some Verghast female snipers as well as a distinguished look for my Verghast over my Tanith. Whether or not this will happen remains to be seen. In the coming months I hope to have more to show you with these forces.

Seen here is the first test scheme model that i completed today. Please note that the tattoos have not been done yet as I am unsure what trooper I wish for this model to be. I have been trying to find a list of each trooper's tattoos. If anyone knows please message me!!! This trooper was done in a new paint scheme that ive been trying out. Most of the model is done up in Vallejo paints. The texture paint on the base was provided to me by my good friend Bandogora who trade them to me for some commissions seen earlier in this blog. Besides this trooper I have also gotten "Try Again" Bragg done too. His model will be showing up in another post that I had planned to write months ago. Any and all comments are welcome.

Test Scheme side shot

Another note is about the All Guardsmen party as done by Shoggy. The banners now seen as the top of my blog are done by the wonderful Kurt Metz. I traded away my first verison of the All Guardsmen Party (AGP) to him in order to get a few custom art pieces done. However, the final detailed models were never shown outside of TG and 1d4chan. So I plan to release images of them here with the V2 editions once they are finished.

The V2 editions actually include a full 10 man squad. This time new faces such as Heavy, Fumbles the Pysker, and Spots the Wonder drone join the party in a attempt to make a INQ legal squad for Kill Team games. I actually got a chance to take them out and play a few games with them two weekends ago. They preformed well in the hands of a novice learning the game of 40k. Hopefully once they get painted they will be joining my INQ forces as full members of Inquisitor Greg Sargent retinue.  A lot of time and effort has gone into making the army the best that it can be.

I know at the beginning of the year i promised to talk about a secret project. That project is still being worked on and news will be coming soon. Until next time. Keep rolling those dice. The Emperor Protects..........

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Commission Part 3: "The Bloody 18th" Arrives

"Faith is not found in the prayers of soldiers cowering in trenches. It is not found in the devout priest preaching to the masses of what they should and shouldn't do. Faith is found in the moments of resolute action; in action of defending our Faith and people, we are devout." -  Attributed to Krieger 18D - "Alein"

"18D"

Trying to show off that detail

      Part 3. Here we go. The commission is finished. Ive been waiting to post this for a while now. The "Bloody 18th" has arrived. First done was Krieger 18D aka Alein. As noted earlier, He is a character done up for Bandogora's Dark Heresy Character. He was the first one I finished but the last to be completed. This was because I mixed a red wash for all the miniatures. At first I wasnt sure I wanted to use it. After trying it out on the regular models I decided to go for it.

Front of the squad

The regular Kriegers were the main challenge of this commission. The models had arrived in bad shape. After some TLC, they came out ready to be painted. Bandogora and I talked over the choices and decided to go for a Blue-Grey scheme with some red thrown in. This scheme was really nice and allowed the models to pop. After doing a test scheme, the client really liked the way the models had looked.

The back side of the Squad

Next up was the next four models. This process took me the course of 3 days with a few days in between. The biggest challenge was for me to figure out how to get the models details properly painted. Krieger modelers have a extraordinary amount of detail. These models though had seen better days. The details were wore away and some of the models had been miscast pretty badly. Bandogora had request no basing on the models. I'll admit, I was almost disappointed I would not get to base these bad boys.

Doing what i could, I was able to make the models stand out. Bandogora has already ordered  his next squad of Kriegers. This next squad is going to be ten grenadiers. It's exciting to watch a new regiment rise.

Next time I hope to be able to return to the All Guardsmen Party that I was working on. I also want to start working on my new Tanith army made out of Victoria Lamb and Brother Vinni Models.  There's a lot of exciting things to come.

Only thing left to do is to get these models all wrapped up and sent back to Bandogora. Hopefully he'll be happy with them! Its been a lot of fun to get a chance to work on the Kriegers but now its time to return to other projects.

Of course at the start of the year i mentioned a top secret project that I couldnt mention yet. Still cant talk about it too much but let me assure you all that it is coming. Stay tuned! Many new and exciting things are coming down the pipeline. As always if you like what you see please comment. If you want to follow my blog please do so, its encouraging to see new faces following your work.

Until Next time...

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Commission: Part 2: "The Bloody 18th" Rises

18D

So in frustration of the weather being humid and uncooperative outside Ive decided to write a blog post. The "Bloody 18th" has been cleaned and retrofitted with their new weapons. The models were cleaned using LA's Totally Awesome, a product I highly recommend.  It does a excellent job in cleaning off paint jobs and removing the models superglue. Its almost like having a fresh model to paint!

So what do I have for you today? Well first off the banner above me is something new. Done by the wonderful artist Kurt Metz, his artwork is very classy and beautifully illustrated. If your looking for someone to do some artwork or just have some time to kill, I recommend his site to check out.  Having seen his artwork that he did and a personal commission I cant thank him enough for, I hope this small token of gratitude is enough.

On the left is 18D AKA "Alein". Bandogora has asked me to keep this model out from the other five Kreigers as a special work in progress for our Dark Heresy Game. Alein's Story is one of duty, honor and sacrifice that we hope to tell through future Dark Heresy Games. Alein is currently serving under the Ordo Xeno with Inquisitor Ackermaan and his war band. Yet as long time RPG players know, in Dark Heresy,  the truth is often stranger than fiction.  I still need to get a scope for Alein's role as the squad sniper / marksmen but once thats done, he'll be ready to see the battlefield.

Below me is the Company Command Squad of the "Bloody 18th". Made up of honored Kriegers, the Command squad is the key component to any Krieger army. These models have been awarded many honors in defense of the Imperium and Krieg. Yet for all their sacrifice, they know that they are just another number in the dark future of the 41st Millennium. Many of these models were broken and in bad shape when I got them. The Flamer on the middle model was un-salvageable. Instead I used a Elysian Shotgun and gave it to the Krieger instead. Being another Forge world product, the Shotgun went well with the Krieger line. Elysian pouches and grenades were also added on to give some flavor to the models. Hopefully Bandogora will appreciate these extras to the models.

Hopefully By Monday I will be able to start priming these models. It is my hope to have these models back to their owner soon completely retro fitted and ready for battle.  As this commission continues I hope you all stay with me, Things are about to kick up speed...

Victoria Lamb Las guns and Kriegers

The new squad together.
Notice the Elysian Shotgun on the Commander figure

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Commission: Death Korps Of Krieg "The Bloody 18th"

     

Middle Blue Krieger

     So here it is, my first commission work!, Originally I wasn't going to post this till it was done but I wanted to get in the mood and excited for the project. This project is for a close friend of mine "Bandogora".  He sent me his first five (5) Death Korps to be painted in the middle blue scheme. Readers of my blog will recall that my first Krieger that I painted was "Clark", a member of the Inquisition and part of Umarus's War band.

That Battle damage (Not mine but clients request to look similar)

These first 5 models arrived just as i was starting to type up this blog post. After looking at the models it was apparent they needed A LOT of TLC. These models had seen better days and it was up to me to make sure they were granted the right tools for the trade. After soaking them in a bath of LA's Totally Awesome, I cleaned them off and got to work putting them together. The picture to the right was requested as the bases for the wear and tear look on Bandogora's own work. No base work was requested and when asked the client refused to have any done.

Another Concept found online

My First look at 18D from pictures

That Red has got to go

 Bandogora had a request for me to make one of the models "18D" also known as "Alein", and make him specifically different from the other 4 Kriegers. 18D was Bandogora's character in Dark Heresy produced by Fantasy Flight Games. 18D was described as a Krieger sniper, so his character was going to have to stand out from the other four. A scope and a camo cloak was request for 18D which I promised to get.

He'll look better soon 

 Bandogora had purchased the models second hand and it was obvious they had seen a lot of wear and tear.  To replace the broken lasguns i suggested that Bandogora purchase some Victoria Lamb arms which he did. These arms were meant to make the regiment more his own and to replace the missing lasguns. What I had failed to realize was how broken these models were, It was going to be rough.

My plan is simple.

 I'm going to prime the models grey and then go over them with a space wolf grey / blue. Once the model is looking good I will add in some brown for the boots and the chest piece. My only hope is that Bandogora hasn't used anything too rough on the black primer, The Flamer is probably going to be the hardest part of this commission but we will see. I also want to add in some highlights and some rough wear and tear that was requested. Since my scopes and on-going Tanith project models had not come in yet, This is all going to be a Work in Progress.

Keep checking back! The Bloody 18th of Krieg will rise once again...

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