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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All in the Squad....

The All Guardsmen party!

Well today is both a sad and exciting day indeed. Today, (February 28th 2015) I sold my first ever Tanith army. The winning bidder is lucky getting a army that has served me well across the various battles of the 41st millennium. The Emperor Protects...

However, this means that my second Tanith army that I have been posting about finally was ordered as well. This army will be composed of Brother Vinni's Models, as well as Victoria Lamb's.  So not all is lost. I kept my vehicles of the Padrus 8th Armored and the Phantine Forge world models that are made from Elysians.  With this force, I intend to start off my new army right with a new paint scheme and many new techniques.

Twitch, Tink, Doc, Cutter

However, what I have for today is taken from Shoggy's "All Guardsmen Party". These collection of stories follow Shoggy's Role playing game group as they try to survive in the Inquisition as Imperial Guardsmen. Sarge, Tink,Doc, Cutter,Nubby, and Twitch have been been the focus of this small project of late.

These characters instantly spoke to me. Many of the heroics told throughout the story are of simple men trying to survive in the universe that hates them. If you haven't gotten the chance to read the stories I highly recommend it! Shoggy is a wonderful story teller!

Doc, Cutter, Sarge, and Nubby

So far I have started on Sarge, (now Inquisitor Greg Sargent) and Cutter. From the story, Cutter and Sarge are two of my favorite characters. Sarge repeatedly proves himself to be a capable leader. His use of leadership and the "NCO disaster manual"  proves to be repeatedly used throughout the story. Cutter for his own replaced Heavy after the latter's death early on. Cutter was once a scribe that quickly learned to love his chain sword and close quarters battle. Cutter would end up on many of the parties early adventures. In one instance he threw himself down a shaft after his beloved chain sword swinging it into the body of a possessed tech priest. Only quick thinking on the part of Nubby would save him. Yet like others, death came for him at the hands of two Chaos Space Marines and a Heritek. His chain sword cutting into the half man, half machine, the last words he heard were "burn" as a massive explosion went off around him burning him and the heretic to death as they fell into oblivion. In tribute to these awesome characters I am making them into model form.

Another thing I wanted to post about was the Phantine Skyborne I've been working on. Since they were saved from the E bay, I wanted to get a community opinion. In one of my earlier stories I wrote about the recruitment poster that my character Jonus Remaus had stood in for. Many posters responded positively to the lore and background. When I found this poster I couldn't help but smile. It seemed to match everything I had written about the Phantine born man. Although the poster is for the PDF, the viewer can imagine it being for the Skyborne or even the aviator corps.

So I'm asking you my dear readers. Should I repaint my Phantine to better match this pilot and the look of a World War II aviator? I think the look would better match what i had expected from the Phantine but at the same time I feel that I like the state they are at now. Maybe time will tell, since i'm redoing my Valkyries to match the Phantine aviator corps.

As always there is more to come and many new exciting things I wish to share with all of you! However at the moment I am unable to disclose more,

Till next time, keep rolling those dice......!

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Product Review: Victoria Miniatures Border World Rangers

                Well here we are our first new project for 2015!  My long term goal for the New Year is to build myself a fighting force of Victoria Miniatures "Border World Rangers" to gradually phase out my Games Workshop conversions in my Tanith First and Only force. This was a decision by me in order to focus on a better look to my Tanith, I have always wanted to push my painting skills and I believe that the lessons I learned from my first army will help me to improve upon this army to be even better.

This new army is going to be made up of entirely 3rd party miniatures as far as I can go. Future plans include both male and female Rangers as well as custom Commissar Gaunt and Viktor Hark models. I hope to be able to make this my pride and joy army. So since this is a product review lets get to it.

The Ranger body and cloaks

This will not be the first time I have worked with Victoria Lamb models. That experience came when I ordered the camo cloaks from her back in 2013. However, I put off this review for a long time due to wanting to make sure I could give a fair and balanced review. Having decided to start this project, I felt now was the time to do it.

Let me start off by saying that the models are even more gorgeous in the resin then the pictures can tell. After having seen some of the Tannenburg models that a friend of mine ordered, I knew I would get excellent results for this army.

bases,scopes and bodies

legs,arms,heads and bits

The models came excellently wrapped and bubble wrapped to protect them against the shipping and handling. I ordered about 100$ worth to avoid the shipping fees that disappears at 50$ USD (highly recommended). They arrived after about two weeks from Australia to the United States.

The models were examined and found to have been in good shape. They had survived their journey well. After opening the packages, I placed the model spurs into warm soapy water. This was for two reasons. One was to clean off the resin release agent that all resin models have. Without this step the paint will not attach itself to the model. Second, it was to re-bend the models back into proper form on those that had bent in transit.

Overall the models arrived in very good time and order, Right now they are undergoing a wash to make sure they are thoroughly cleaned. I would highly recommend Victoria Miniatures not only for their price, but for their quality. Vic's minis are some of the best I've seen on the miniature market. Anyone looking for an alternative model in 28mm heroic would be advised to check out this wonderful company.

As this is the start of the first project of the New Year, I hope to be able to finish this army in the long term. Its something we'll have to see about though.

Till next time, keep rolling those dice...

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New Year, New Projects: Hello 2015!

Hello and welcome to the 2015 edition of Behind the Lines Gaming. As a new year gets underway we look forward to the new start that a new year will bring. Like last year I will be attempting to post every two weeks but again graduate school might  get in the way. As with last year, this is more a attempt to regulate myself than a true schedule or promise. 

First off, I will be starting off this year with a new army project. I am going to be attempting to create a full Victoria Miniatures army of Border World Rangers. This will be a ambitious attempt to create a true feeling Tanith first and only army of Non-GW models. A review of Victoria Miniatures will also be forthcoming once the start of the army arrives.

 Also I will be working on my Tau army to get it all painted. Some of my flyers have been stripped of their paint and will be redone once I can find time to get to them.  

In non Games workshop terms, I also intend to fully paint up my Menoth army for Warmachine. Right now this project hasn't been shown on here but it is coming along. nonetheless it is underway. (White is a pain to paint) but I am hopeful for the learning experience.

In other Gaming Related news for the New Year:

Also I will be starting my second season of the Edge of the Empire game that I am Game mastering. This time the heroes will head off into the galaxy to fight against the evil Empire. Although the hero's don't know whats in store for them, the galaxy is a wide place. Already in season 1 they had faced death numerous times before. This time they better be ready for true consequences. The Empire wont allow the Rebels to escape this time.

Also underway is a major ambitious goal of Renegade09, Pwnzilla789, and my own that I hope to be able to talk about in the near future. This goal is the largest yet to date but at the moment all is looking to be on track! Stay tuned for a major update soon. I hope that you all are excited as I am.

2015 is going to be a exciting new year that we here at Behind the Lines gaming hope everyone will be excited for! Stay tuned for a much more to come!

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