"Have a good one, Airborne!"

To those that have given thier lives so that others may live:

SSG Leslie "Wade" Martin  

You knew I wanted your job when you PCS'd, getting it early wasn't part of the deal.

SPC Angela "Angie" Niedermayer

An airborne "sister" like no other, you always found a way to brighten the day.

SSG Logen "Woody" Woodrow

We didn't know each other well, but you will always be remembered.

SPC Lunsford B. Brown

You never got the chance to meet your daughter, but I know your watching over her every day.

THE FINAL INSPECTION

The soldier stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.

"Step forward now, you soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

"Step forward now, you soldier,
You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell." 

To fair winds and a soft landing, a final jump's been made.

Imperial Fist Finished (pt. 3)

 

As promised here's the final pics of the Imperial fist I've been working on.   With battle damage and weathering.  I know there's a lot to improve on, I think there's a "bit" to much damage, and not enough weathering around the feet, but as I've stated this is the first time I've ever tried doing this on a model.  I really LOVE the way it looks though, so I can honestly say I'll be doing this with every model from now on.  It really adds a ton of character to the model.  

 

 Here's the last few WIP shots for those interested.  As you can see I like to paint mini's in stages, that means painting all the bits prior to assembly, and only touching up parts after gluing them.   To this end, I paint 80% of my IG while they are still on the sprue or as individual bits.

Well I've got 4 more of these to do now.  Better get started if I ever want to finish...

Imperial Fist (pt. 2)

Just wanted to show you all the next set of pictures of the Imperial fist I´ve been working on.  I should say right from the start that he is actually finished but I just have to get better pictures of him before I put them up here for all to see.

This is the first time that I´ve tried putting battle damage on a marine, and I have to admit I think it looks pretty darn good.  It  really makes me consider going back on my IG and adding a bit on their shoulder and body armor.

 Completed pics should be up by monday at the latest, so you´ll have to come back then to see how he looks with more damage, and bit of weathering.

Astropath Finished

Well I didn't think I would have the chance to get this guy finished, what with all my time going to the Imperial Fist that I'm working on, but at some point you have to wait for paint to dry.  He's by far not my best work, but I really wanted to try out some shading on his robes, and I don't think they came out to bad.

You know, that I'm looking at this pic, I realize the rim of the base needs a bit more lovin...  I guess he's not done after all....

Imperial Fist

As part of an online role play I decided to build a model of the character that I'll be using.  The above parts are just about everything that I plan putting on this guy.  He's actually an old BT that has been repainted as I couldn't find any unpainted models that I liked.

Here is after a white base coat, a layer of Bad Moon Yellow, and wash of Gryphonne Sepia.  I actually like how it looks after the wash, but I still think he needs a bit more yellow added back in.   Next step is going to be the eagle and battle damage.  I typically paint as I go, working from the inside out, it may take longer but gives me better access with the brush to the small details...  See everyone tomorrow with the next update.

BT Razorback

Black Templar Tuesday is back with a mighty Lascannon armed Razorback.  Alrighty then no laughing!  This here was my very first Space marine tank (1998), and it still has much of it's original paint job, can't you tell.  I used the simplistic model of painting back then, and that was to base coat everything in black and then paint a few pieces of kit and call it a day.   You'll also notice that some of the bits are from the later released BT vehicle sprue, which I felt needed to be added to give it a more BT feel.

I also repainted the turret and gun about 6 years back because the metal had chipped and flaked off, yes it had only a single layer of black on it originally as I didn't know what "base coating" was back then.  Looking at this thing now it makes me want to repaint it or sell it.  Maybe I'll just put it back in the storage bin and save it for a rainy day...

IG Astropath

After reading about the success's and usefulness of the Astropath in various IG armies, I've decided to try on out.  The initial painting results can be seen above.  I've also decided to try out a few of the highlighting tips I've read about, combining various washes and layers.  So far I can say that although time consuming, especially when working on only one model at a time, I like the results.   So far I've used Regal blue, and wash of Devlan Mud, followed up by another highlight of Regal blue, and Ultramarine blue.  I'm wavering on the thought of using Ice blue as well.  (these are the only blues I have at the moment)

Next up I plan on working on the wooden staff, and I recently saw a nice tutorial in one of the WD's that I thought I could modify to use the colors I have at hand.  We'll see how those go, and show the results in my next post.

Stormtroopers... finally

As you can see I finally finished the last 3 Stormtroopers to complete my 1st ST squad.  The other five can be seen here, and these guys round out the squad.  I know the pics a bit light, but I had a hell of a time finding the right place to take pics this morning and that's the best I could get.  Now, I'm not overly impressed with myself with the paint job on these, I know I've done better, but as I alluded to in my previous posts I had a hard time getting back into the swing of things and I'm still working on.

Hmmm, the next squad is armed with a meltagun and a flamer...  I might have to hit up Ebay and find a different special weapon as I really hate flamers.  I know, I know, thousands upon thousands of gamers swear up and down about how great they are, but I hate them.  No good reason really I just don't like the idea of them, and because I want my army to look like I imagine it in my head I don't use them.

Well I'm off, it's nice to be back and here's to more regular posting.

*and three my painting points

Getting back into painting

Well, now that life has settled down and I've got the paints and mini's out again I can't seem to paint a straight line.  I've got 4 mini's in front me, 3 Stormtroopers to finish the squad I started a few months back, and a commissar.  The ST's are based and have grey uniforms and every time I try to go in and touch up my mistakes or try detailing my hands start shaking and everything goes to hell...  I'm not even going to try the commie until this goes away.

I've been painting off an on for ump'teen years now with long and short breaks in between, I am by far no GD level painter but until now I had at least been able to keep a straight line.  It can't be from to much painting because it's been more than a month since I last picked up a brush.  I guess I need to keep working at it and just get back into the swing of things.

Pics will follow, once the hands settle down and get into the swing of things.