How to Paint Tanith: The Uniform and flesh tones (Part 1)

                   Today I present to you our first paint guide! I have decided that I am going to show off how to paint the Tanith First and Only models. The squad I am using is one of my many Tanith squads. I messed up these five Tanith models painting them and so after stripping them in LATA, I decided I would use them for the painting guide. When done, they should look like the first five Tanith you see in picture 1. It should be noted that this guide is not the only way to paint Tanith. This is simply my method.

Finished Squad

Picture 2 is the one of the models from the second squad of five after they were stripped in LA's Totally Awesome. After I got the models stripped, I realized that I was out of primer and so had to go get another can. Finally getting another can of primer, I was able to prime the models and prepare them for the paint job.

Step one is grey primer. The primer I choose to use is from Rust-Oleum and the type is 2x Ultra cover primer. This primer is the best grey I have found for miniature in rattle can form. If I were to airbrush more often, I would recommend Vallejo Grey Primer. After letting the primer dry, I brought the models in doors and set about on the second step.

Stripped in LATA and ready to prime

Step two was the base colors. I chose Vallejo Black-Grey and put it all over the model. The hair, as well as the gun strap was also done up in black-grey. After the black-grey dries, I then added on the flesh tones. The base color is Vallejo Rosey Flesh. Once I got a solid base of flesh, I switched over to Citadel Leadblecher and did up the metal parts on the gun. I also did up the buckles on the uniform and the metal straps on the gun strap. For the cloak, I used P3 Baston Grey. P3 paint can be pretty thick so you need to be careful when applying this color to the cloak. Lastly we add some steel legion drab to the stock of the gun in order to get that Nalwood look.

Just before the wash stage (and optional eyes)

Step three sees the model covered head to toe in Nuln Oil. Be sure to avoid the flesh. We dont want to get the skin covered in Nuln oil. We also want to avoid the stock of the gun if possible, although if some does get on the stock, then its easier to fix. We will need to let this wash dry. About a hour will do to allow for the wash to really get into the crevices. After the wash dries, we need to check the model and make sure the wash got everywhere.

Step four is optional but can be used to make the models look a little bit better. Eyes. Lots of people hate doing eyes but I have found a way to make them easier on models. Where the eyes would be on the model use Ulthuan Grey and paint around the eye area. After the paint drys, turn the model upset down and getting a small 10/0 brush draw a small black line down the center of where the eyes would be. Once you are happy with the eyes turn the model right side up and then let it dry. If the model seems a little bit crazy looking at this stage, DONT WORRY! We will be cleaning all this mess up.


Thats all for today. Join us next time when we clean up the eye sockets and proceed onto making this model table top ready! If you a new reader let us know what you think of this new series. Would you like to see more? Maybe another army? Comment Below!

Until Next time!

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Product Review: Matlida Battle Tank "Fury"

Today I present to you another product review. This time from Victoria Miniatures. Long time readers of this blog will know that I have done a few Victoria Miniatures reviews for her Border World Rangers before but never a vehicle.

The Matilda Battle Tank has been on my list of "to buy" items for a long time. This Battle tank was a gift from my friends for my birthday. They bought me not only the tank itself, but also the gun pack and the sponson pack. Shipping took the normal amount of time to reach the US from Australia and was not bad at all. When the tank arrived, it arrived it a single box with the bits in one part of the box and the main tank located in another box. The Tank was then washed and dry fitted together.

The casting on the tank is beautiful. The way the turret guns fit into the turret is flawless and does not even require magnets to work. It should be noted that the tank also has spots for magnets built into the sponsons. Assembly was easy and once I got started it was hard to put it down. I was able to assemble the model in one sitting but after that it was a few weeks before I could get the courage to airbrush her. When I finally did it was well worth it. I have taken the model to my local store many times and get questions about who makes it all the time. It is certainly a conversation starter and eye candy for the table.

I think sometime in the future I certainly will be ordering a few more! Victoria Miniatures has hit a home run with this model. I would certainly recommend this model to anyone looking for a change to the standard Leman Russ. If you are a fan of historical tanks but want a touch of science fiction to your 40k models you cant go wrong! Let me know your own feelings on this beautiful tank! In the mean time I got to get back to painting her.

Until Next time!

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Phantine Skyborne: Another Command squad done!

"Green Light! Go Go GO!" -  Major Erwan Grec    44th Phantine Skyborne

Its been a while since I posted and for that I do apologize.  At the current moment Ive gotten a new job that has taken a lot of my time away from painting. This new job however, was my dream job and so Im happy for it.

These models were done over the summer in July. This Phantine Command squad is most likely the last Infantry im going to buy for the Phantine for a while. This is mostly do to running out of room in my case for more Phantine Infantry and also being happy with the amount I have.

This squad was done up just like the others. I needed them to complete my case of Phantine Skyborne and had planned to add them back in 7th as the final steps into my army. With 8th, my plans for the Phantine changed with the breaking apart of the command squad and Company Commanders. I have since played with these models and the nearly won me a tournament a while back. My plan is to add some grav chutes for them one day to make them look like they just dropped out of the Valkyrie.

Now for a look into the future. With this new job, I highly doubt I'll have a lot of time to update in the immediate future. My time for miniatures and painting has dropped to zero. So is this blog going to die? NO WAY! My plan is now to drop the articles so that I get one post per month until I can get caught up with my work. I also plan to add on guest writers to show off their armies and pictures. That way even If i cant post something, somebody else will be contributing to the blog.

Thats the plan for the moment anyway. As always please leave feedback or comments. Let us know you were here. Follow us as well to get updates!

Until Next time....

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Tanith 1st and Only: Another Squad reporting In!

First 5 Tanith done

This post has been sitting in my drafts for a while but its about time I think to break it out. Today I present to you another squad of Tanith First and Only. This squad has been done up at since at least last year but I've been distracted with work and school. Today I hope to rectify that.

Like my other Tanith Squad, this one was done up in the colors of the First and Only. Altogether, this squad took two weeks to paint and finish but at least it means I'm one step closer to completing my Tanith for the moment. Only two more squads to go until i am fully painted with all my Tanith. However, this will not be the end of my Tanith. I plan to go back and add highlights as well as their tattoos for every model. I truly want these to be the best model I can present for my work. Time will tell though.

Second 5 Tanith

 In the future I hope to add some more Victoria Miniature models to the army in the form of female Verghast. With the release of the new Matilda tank too, Victoria Miniatures is looking like a nice place for 3rd Party fans to find things they would like for their Guard.

This leads me to the next point. Pardus. Last post I gave a teaser to the Armored Company list I've run a few times at my FLGS. This list is made up of Tanith in Chimeras with Pardus 8th Tank support and Phantine air cover. It is a favorite for how much pain it can bring to the table. Now that the Inquisition detachment allows for the Inquisition to bring all flavors of the Imperium it has become a even stronger list. My plan is work on the vehicles for a while and get them at least base painted and away from their primer. Then try to get back on track with painting.

Squad view

Its been a odd start to the year. It seems (at least for my blog) that I always peter out around this time of the year. I'm hoping to change that but we'll see.

Keep checking back. Till next time,

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2016: A Year in Review

Rolling for Happy New Year!

Still Secret Im Afraid 

Well here we are again! Seems like only yesterday we were starting another New Year. This year has seen a lot of changes in both myself and this blog. Every day brought something new this year and the world has kept on spinning. We here at Behind the Lines Gaming would like to wish you a Happy New Year. At the beginning of the year were had promised to promote big news to you all. That big news is still happening, even if things have been quiet, but we will tell you more in 2017. As always keep checking back for updates on that.


The Tanith and Allied guard have gotten a lot of attention this year. I can safely safe that most of those units have been painted. 2017 should see some additions to the armies.  The Tau as noted earlier will be getting reinforcements with the Riptide battlesuit and hopefully a few more surprises. The Adeptus Mechanicus army is growing with the additional purchase of a skitarii army pending at the moment. More news on that soon! Finally with MK III of warmachine out now, I have gotten into full swing of painting those miniatures. Hopefully i'll be able to take them out for a few games.

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!

Tiger Tank of the Imperium

#1 this year turned out to be a product review of the Gideon Tank done by MadRobot Miniatures! This review came in with nearly 1137 views! A huge thank you to Steve at MadRobot for putting up with me while I made the order. These models were a joy to put together and a joy to paint. The fact that I got 2 more waiting to be painted is only extra exciting to me! Once warmer weather hits Im going to break out my airbrush and start on its two siblings ASAP! In the future I hope to order potentially two more to add to the armored group. We'll have to see though.

12 Crisis Suits Plus 1 more

#2 this year was the Tau [Crisis Suit] Story. At 764 views this post was the second most viewed post of the year.  Once I had decided on a scheme for my Sept I set about painting it.This scheme was exteremly popular with the folks down at my LFGS and the models have seen a ton of play. I think the post was popular because of the amount of Tau crisis suits? Maybe it was just the amount of painted Tau? Whatever the case It has been a fun journey to show them off to you all and play with them on the table and against them. Trust me, Its not fun to face down 24 plasma rifles as guard. Still the modification to the models to make the XV-46 was one of my favorite changes to these stock models. Leave no model unconverted!

#3 this year was a twist. Pulling from our Dark Heresy game, Sister Hana and Krieger 18D became the third most popular post with 682 views. This project was being completed by my friend Bandogora and he has progressed well on both Hana and 18D. In the future he hopes to finish Hana and add in the rest of the party including our Tech Priest Magnus Nicodemus of Metallica and Interrogator Bo Terran. Time will tell if he can do it.  This project was a joy to watch come to completion. As our Dark Heresy season has ended for the year, I can fully say the party did not come away unscathed. Truths were revealed that injured the party and caused many angry emotions. Next season will show if the party and time has healed the wounds left by one party members betrayal.

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 2016 and a happy start to 2017! Keep rolling those dice and stay tuned for many new exciting things to come in 2017! 

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Tanith First and Only: Like Ghost from the Night (Part II)

close up of the five new members

 Another squad painted and just in time for Halloween! Last time I posted, I had the first half of this squad done up and painted. Now I'm here today to show off the second half of the squad. These Tanith took me the course of a week+1 to finish as I was lazy for some days during the course of the week. This squad is going to be part of 1st Platoon, under Colonel Corbecs guys and gals. Hopefully once Victoria gets the female border world rangers bodies done up, i'll be able to put in a order for some more female Verghast.

Another shot and angle

With the completion of these guys, this brings my top tray in my carrying case to fully painted. It'll look good to open my case and see the squads fully painted, even if it is only the top tray. The Tanith are growing and I hope to be able to finish them all and have them painted someday. In the meantime I have also bought a forge world Event only Enforcer with cyber mastiff and a forge world Titan tech priest. These two models are next on my list and will be shown off once completed.

The entire squad

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Tanith 1st: Men of Tanith, Do you want to live forever?!

The Squad

So originally I had planned to do another product review for the second half of August but that plan has fallen through. Right now I'm out of paints I need to do my next project so while I wait for a supply drop, I figured I would present to you all another squad of Tanith.

 This squad was done over the course of two weeks. For my Tanith (and most of my line infantry) I usually do five models at a time with one example figure. That way I am able to concentrate on each model individual model and not feel overwhelmed. This squad is gonna be another line squad but I have not yet decided under who.

The first four Tanith

Of late I've been working on readying my army to completion and trying to get as much as possible painted. With my recent purchase of a airbrush this task has become much easier and faster. I hope to be able to work through my flyers and tanks fairly quickly in order to complete them before moving on.

With each model I am attempting to add small characteristics to the model to make them individuals. some models receive 5'o clock shadows or mustaches as part of their painting process. Others get beards or facial features painted up in order to differentiate them from other models.

Another addition to the models are a second coat of silver finish on the model parts of the weapons. I am unsure how it looks overall but I have attempted with two squads so far and found it to be excellent for adding a flair to the model.

The second six Tanith

So whats next? well I hope to be able to provide that product review I had talked about at the start of this post. Secondly, my FLGS is starting its own journeyman league in warmachine for MK III. I hope to start on my Menoth as soon as my supply drop comes in. With the grey primer that I use, I was thinking of using my airbrush to paint the whites and then add a coat of red in certain areas. However, this plan seems like it would be a waste of resources. Especially since the white would enhance the reds too much to be off color. Perhaps I will do a test model and see the results.

Till next time, leave a comment, say hi or just let me know what you think. Every little bit helps!

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Tanith 1st and Only: "Mad" Larkin and Plasma Gunner

The Ebay listing photo

This project was one that I took on a impulse buy and I'm not sure if I'm gonna regret it or not. Wanting to expand my collection of metal Ghost, I turned to Ebay and found this duo. I offered the seller 10$ plus 4.95 shipped for the pair and laughed it off as probably unlikely to be accepted. The joke was on me however and the seller accepted. Now I had to figure out how to turn these ghost from hideous models into true servants of the Emperor.

When I got them I stripped of their horrible smelling bases and dropped them in LA's Totally Awesome. This seemed to do alright but to speed up the process I dropped them next into rubbing alochol (90% proof) and let them sit for two days. Giving them a hard scrubbing, I got them to the next stage as seen to the right.

After their stripping

After that it was time for painting! I gave them a good bath of primer (Not literally) before taking them inside and starting to paint them. I went for my standard Tanith Black / Grey scheme and tried my best to make them up to par with the rest of the army. Each model was given particular attention, especially to the plasma gun. I then added on the basing for each model before letting them dry. Overall this process took about six days.

Sharp eyed viewers can notice the Gideon Tank from Madrobot Miniatures that I ordered. I plan to do a review of them coming soon. Stay tuned for that!

Final Product!  "Mad Larkin" and a Plasma Gunner

"Mad" Larkin is one of the most famous characters of Gaunt' Ghost. Being known as the insane sniper and sniper master, Larkin is a near constant character throughout the series. His character gradually grows throughout the series becoming one of the best that Dan Abnett has written.

The Tanith Plasma gunner was also a lot of fun to work on. While I personally don't recall there being a Tanith that carried a plasma gun in the series, the addition of a Tanith with one is not to be over looked for list building. This model will almost certainly be used to fill out my scout squads or to used as a plasma gunner in a line squad. Overall Ive had alot of fun saving these models from Ebay and making sure that they fill the voids in my Tanith Army. Hopefully next time I take the Tanith out they will be able to make it into the game.


Till next time!

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March on Tanith, March on: Part 2

Verghast Recruits

Tanith Vets

So here we are, the first real post of 2016! What do you we have for you today?

Well before I left for winter break I had been working on some Verghast recruits. I was originally going to post there on their own but decided to wait. Instead, what I got for you today is not 1 but 2 fully painted units of Tanith First and Only.

The First squad is made up of Verghast recruits pulled fresh from the hives. These men are carrying their own versions of the lasguns as given to them upon joining the first and only. The next picture below is of my first fully painted Tanith squad. Sharp eyed viewers will note that there are 11 Tanith in this picture! That is because I found a extra body and was able to make a extra model out of the bits I had ordered from Victoria Lamb. These two squads make up my first platoon of Tanith painted up. Only the Platoon command squad to go!

In the mean time I have taken a break from painting Tanith to work on my Ad Mech a little. My Ad Mech forces are coming together under the leadership of a female Magos! Along with her Skirtarii, she will be joining the Tanith in their battles across the Sabbat Worlds. These forces come from Forge World Metillica, home of my friends tech priest in our Dark Heresy game. Hopefully i'll have more to show you as the paint jobs progress.

Also, I was given my late christmas presents that I missed while I was away over Christmas

holiday. A bunch of new supplies and goodies to help the process go smoother. The biggest welcome was new brushes and a dark grey spray paint can for a surprise project. More on that later!

As the year begins to unfold, I would like to remind my readers that I am going to attempt to do this blog every two weeks. However, this is not always going to pan out. With work and school, I am trying to do the best I can on the blog. However, stop by, leave a comment or just let me know you were here. Every little bit helps!

Until next time!

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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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