Imperial Knight

So I just couldn't resist and I downloaded the new White Dwarf issue 4.  I have to say that I'm already frothing at the mouth to get my hands on one of these things.   The rules for both battle cannon and the melta cannon are sweet, especially if you get this guy up close where you can get 2D6 added to penetration roll. 

The history and background section of the Knights was enough to get you started but was lacking the details that I normally expect from GW.  I do hope that we'll see more in the future.

The rest of the issue had a few short pages about the new Codex: Legion of the Damned, and after that they went on to talk about the Imperal Fists.  I really didn't read to much of that though because I'm not big Space Marine player (which some of you may have noticed  I freely admit though that the only reason I picked this up was because of the rules and information for the knights.  If your're thinking of picking up an Imperial Knight I recommend picking up this issue for the rules if nothing else.  

Echo Troop Rough Riders (Part 2)

I really do hate to change projects half way through, but I seemed to have forgotten a Pledge to finish my Rough Riders by the end of the February...   oops.   So I dug them out and as you see above there's still a bit to do.  It's not a lot, but it's a lot of small detailing.  So until the end of the month (unless a miracle happens and I get these done faster) my poor Avenger will have to wait patiently as Echo Troop, 19th Mynvody Lancers gets painted up.

OH, and just a bit of a Rant over a rumor I heard. I love my Rough Riders, and the way they look and play with my army in general.  No, they are not the "über" unit that everyone wants, but they do their job, and look good.  ("looking good" isn't that what the cavalry is for anyways?) 

Now, I recently read this:
"For the same reasons Rough Riders will be dropped from the army list (much like most entries without models got cut from the tyranid codex). Source: FAEIT 212 "  And that got me thinking WTF!!!  I surely hope that GW doesn't do this.  Over the years they've changed a few units but completely wiping one out of the IG Codex hasn't happened in a while.  Now, as for myself, I think it's to early to tell as to if this is true or not, but I surely hope not.  I have big plans for my Cavalry, and hope to have 3 squads of them done in the not to distant future.

Avenger Strike Fighter (Part 4)

Well I got home a bit early last night and was able to get a bit more hobby time in than normal.  I painted up all the angels / plates / recesses prior to applying the first layer of color.  This is something new for me, but I had seen it done on a number of model airplanes, and thought I would give it a try.  Basically you highlight all those parts in black, ensuring to get down into the crevices and rivet holes (I missed a few...). 

 

Once you've got that done the idea is that you would apply a base coat, (here I applied a grey base coat to the fuselage and wings, but will spray the engines black at a later date) and after that you color in the dark edges.  Tape off the areas you don't want to get any paint and there you go. 

  As you can see above I forgot to take a picture of the step before this, as the model is now taped off for the blue sides, and no longer for the bottom.  In the pictures below you can see how the pre-shading came out under the grey paint. 

 It's a bit lighter than I would have preferred (or the grey was darker) but in the grand scheme of things I can live with it and it wasn't very hard to do anyways.

Now, it's on to spraying the next color on the sides of the fuselage and vertical stabilizers.

Avenger Strike Fighter (Part 3)

 

Here she is 95% finished.  The only thing that is missing are the hard point weapons under the wings.  As I stare at the picture writing this, I do believe that the mini-gun is just a tad bit off-kilter. Hmm, maybe I do still have a bit to do yet. 

Test fitting the cockpit parts and the canopy's. I was a bit worried at first because the front canopy was warped, but a bit of hot water cleared that up in a jiffy. I'm thinking about reworking the defensive stubber though. The ammunition belts at the rear of the gun pretty much block the gunners entire control panel.  Not sure how I'll do it yet but I've got a few ideas. 

 Start of my Green Stuff work around the engines.  Twas a pain in the arse to get in there with Liquid Green stuff.  Especially that Liquid GS is a bit old, and not what it once was.  Does anyone know if you can use a bit of water to bring that stuff back to life?

 Not only can you see my horrible green stuff job, (no it's not finished) I really had to pack it in there and trying to clean up the leftovers wasn't easy.  It probably would have been easier to use real green stuff and not liquid GS like I tried at the beginning.  Oh, and as I started to say, now you can see the start of the interior color.

I read a hobby/modeling magazine here (art of Modelling) and they had a Mig-21 painted up with a "Sky Blue" interior, and just sorta fell in love with the way it looked.  That means though that mine won't be Sky Blue, and it won't look as sexy, but it'll get the job done.

And last but not least, as I mentioned in the last few posts, I've been working out of a box in the living room these last few weeks.  Well now that my family has returned to the frozen tundra just south of Lambeau Field, I was able to put my desk back together, which of course enabled me to clean it off.

Now my table is all ready to get filled up with Imperial Guard goodness, and I can get back to a little hobby time!