Astropolis Enginarium Crew

Another group of Astropolis crew members, this time the the crew of the mighty ship's Enginarium. No starndard GW techpriest here, although I'm looking around for servitors (oh hallo Wargames Exclusive...) to bulk out their numbers a bit. 

Moltar the Rubricational Fluidicist's role may seem minor, but a lot of oiling, fueling, and decanting needs to be done, especially since the engines are the size of office buildings. I need to het some tanker servitors for him somewhere.

 Line Machinist Zeff is probably the most commanding looking of the bunch, although he's not in charge.

Plasma Joiner Beta-Upsilon-7-7 started life as a Kroglogg alien, which I neither needed nor wanted, but like the other Kroglogg he found a new life as a boiler-suited heavy. Festooned with a power fist and a triple-plasma array, he's more than capable of handling himself in a fight. 

One of my favorite models in the series, Chief Coordinator Czenk and his servoskull Czerno see that the things on the engine decks stay in motion, even when monsters and cultists are trying to muck things up. Also the most at ease of the crew at dealing with the Chief Enginemaster and other command staff, due to his professionalism and seeming unflappability in the face of a crisi. Not sure what he'd do in combat; perhaps provide individual buffs and bubble effects to the rest of the team?   

Material Acquisitions Explorator Caldo sweeps the abandoned decks in search of salvage for use on the engines. The Astropolis is so massive and old that it's cannibalizing itself, and Caldo has to be careful not to work something loose that's still connected and running.   

Galvanic Arc Felicitator Heck is inexplicably the most popular among the ladies. Many attribute it to his ability to cook, while others say it's his boyish charm. 

If Conduit Separationist Kohl's not snapping something off, he's beating living shit out of it with a hammer. This brutality belies the fact that he's a talented technician and very adept at micro-circuit rejoining. Does the most work with the upper level tech crews throughout the ship. 

INQ28: Two Hired Guns....

 The Curst wear their sins writ upon their flesh, and undertake various tasks that they might be absolved of them.... 

Hunters come in many shapes and specialties, hailing even from the forge worlds of the Mechanicum.....

Astropolis Technical Crew

 I cannot sing the praises of Lead Adventures enough. They produce minis that are characterful and quirky, and this sort of thing is exactly why I got into painting in the first place. Currently, I'm working my way through the contents of my LE kickstarter box(es) and am doing them by the team, sort of. The latest are these folks, a bunch of technicians and other laborers. 

As you can see, they're just covered in detail. Unfortunately this presents paint coverage problems as well, as there are so may little damn nooks and crannies that... ah well, never mind. 

Chief Technician Jett has a welding rig and beard like Abe Lincoln. I imagine like his daughter he'd be a beast in close combat, but sadly, not a lot of staying power as techs generally don't wear armor. The stern leader of the group, Jett's got a kind heart. 

His daughter Kat was converted from a Kroglogg alien, whose body was perfect to represent a chick in a boiler suit. Her head is from a Rackham Drune Fianna. The few Krogloggs in the set I had little use for, but the other two became conversion fodder and turned out quite nicely. More on that later. While tough and smart, Kat is also guarded and very feminine. She tends to fall for the wrong man all the time, though. Her loader rig packs a tough punch to boot!

The third heavy hitter of the team, Hammers the Cyborg is a lobotomized criminal sentenced to servitude. His crime of theft is a dire one aboard a warp ship where resources are precious, so his punishment was heavy labor while locked in his own mind. Statwise, he's probably the toughest, being over 50% augmetic, and those thunder hammer can flatten a marauding pirate as easily as they can pound a deck plate into place. 

The other lobotomized moron on the team, Smee's mind was completely "sanitized" of all independant thought because he was a child molester. Therefore he needs someone to tell him what to do 24-7, otherwise he'll just stand there and drool to death. 

Deck Officer Mick (to the left) shouts at everybody not because he's an asshole, but because he's nearly deaf from being around loud engines on the flight deck and his helmet has no hearing protection for some reason. Apprentice Technician Jack is reliable, but shifty, and has a penchant for opening locks and solving puzzles, so by default he's the ship's locksmith and fixes things in places other techs won't fit. Shop Steward Spode represents the Technicians and Boiler Workers' Union to the Bridge, athough no one elected him because it doesn't actually exist even though he insists it does. Thus the rest of the crew gets their collective bargaining rights while not really asking for any. It helps that Spode is fair minded and only thinks of his fellow crewmen. 

A Nebulon B, just in time for Star Wars Day!

As you can no doubt tell, my usual photo setup is NOWHERE NEAR ideal for me to shoot large models. While not the tallest large model I've ever done, it's still definitely the longest. Regardless, I soldiered on with a rudimentary lighting setup and black sheet to bring you a Nebulon-B Frigate. 

It's even longer than its sister ship, the Phoenix Home, but the Pelta-class is broader and masses more. Strangely enough, they both saw the same use in different eras; Peltas were medical transports during the Clone Wars, and of course, a Nebulon-B served as the Rebellion's hospital ship throughout the original three films (well, two of them).

Another Neb owner had the idea of putting the thing on two separate bases so it wouldn't just sweep massive amounts of models off the table, as well as to encourage people to fly through the spar area cinematically. A great idea that I adopted for this model. That front base? That is the same size as the large ship base you see on the Charger C70 in the previous pic. I double-layered the bases not only to add stability to the brass rods, but to keep the tall slender thing from tipping over and destroying its 3D printed self. 

It is, of course, not at all screen accurate. The more you look between this and an actual production still, the more you'll see is wrong. There are places that are not long or short enough, there are details missing. There are windows where there shouldn't be. Quite frankly, I don't care. It's accurate enough for me. The price was right. The time was right, and the occasion (I got a new job! Whee!) was right. 

The internal solidity of 3D printed models continues to vex and confound me. While drilling into the drive section, I discovered it was hollow past the initial outer shell and as a result, the rear rod  had to be SUPER long compared to the bow section one.

Painting felt fast but took a while. This thing has more nooks and crannies than... well, than anything I've worked on to date. I may yet still paint those engines with glow-in-the-dark paint, as they're not as deep as the Pelta's and thus the paint could infuse with light. I'm also still of two minds about printing a small screen cap of Luke & co. for that port-side window. I could've embedded a magnet to mount a Falcon under the spar, but didn't want to compromise the structural integrity of the spar. 

Happy Star Wars Day, folks!

X-Wing: Some Epic game aids...

As you may know, I have a slew of epic ships. Well, to make a long story short I've finally gotten around to making sheets for them. As always, questions and comments welcome. Enjoy!

Photos of the new Nebulon-B as soon as I can figure a photo setup for the damn thing. It's huge!

IN28: The Procession of St. Sebastian (Complete!)

Every year in the town of Bruegelburg on the planet Brabant Prime there is a festival to commemorate the victory of the Dark Angels and the 10th Belgic Fusiliers over the forces of the Great Enemy. The planet, long settled by the Fusiliers, has seen peace and prosperity until only recently, when a cult began to gnaw at the edges of society. Posing as immigrants, they had skulked their way into town in ones and twos, plying the foul beliefs to the weak minded and the perverse. Their foul worship would culminate in a profane summoning ritual to be held on the night of the festival, ushering in a new era of depravity. 

The Herald, the Child, and the Knight

Little Elsa, only nine, was praying in the garden of her modest home when a vision of the Emperor appeared to her.

"Elsa, thou shalt be a vessel of my light." He said in fatherly tones. "Take up the arms of the past and lead my people. Burn the foul heretics from the village." 

Young Bert, who favored her, became her knight, and took up his father's bayonet and pistol. Tom, who had practiced his horn for many an hour, now blew notes louder and clearer than any man twice his age. 

The more people she told, the more were filled with holy fervor. First, her playfellows, then her parents, then their friends (seasoned veterans of the Imperial Guard long since gone to seed). Their weapons slumbered behind the oaken doors of the provincial armory, but had been maintained day by day with care. On the night the procession was to take place, many revelers flocked to the structure to arm themselves without questioning why. 

Sister Hester, Willing Bess, and Old Gert

The Lamplighter's Guild set aside their customary candlepikes to take up the flamers they once used during the crusade. Roasting the heretics alive with blessed promethium, their high voices joined those of others in singing hymns to of illumination in His Holy Name. 

That they shirked their usual duty tonight was no matter. The lamps along the parade route burned brightly with the great flames of faith. 

Sire Flatley, Mister Goodfellow, and Tig the Midget

The Huntmaster's Guild took up arms as well, and with great voices voiced the Emperor's holy wrath. Like unto the assault marines of the Astartes they where, falling upon the evil ones in great leaps and bounds and cleaving them asunder.

"Who gives a child a chainpike?" "It's quite alright, old fellow.  You see, he's forty-six."

Their armor was wood and cardboard. Their horses, cloth. But the carnage they wrought would gladden the heart of any Astartes chaplain.

See now, the holy procession. Hear the hymns of victory, the horn of triumph!

At last the bones of the Saint were brought forth from the blessed reliquary, and the procession moved up the high street, swinging toward the ruined quarter with its profaned church, already teeming with heretics striving to dim the Emperor's light. A servo skull floated about the four bearers and their priceless charge, the sweet incense hedging out the foulness of the unbelievers and filling the air. 

The bearers represented the four Pillars of the Imperium. To the fore, the Astartes leading the way on their crusade through the lost worlds, bringing the Emperor's light. 

Following in their wake, the Adeptus Mechanicus, bringing inexorable progress with their industrial might.  

With them, the Ecclesiarchy, arming the people with the sword of Faith and girding them with the armor of Contempt.

Moving them ever forward, the might of the Imperial Guard, undaunted and unyielding to the last. 

The Saint himself was bedecked in the livery of his chapter; the green and bone of the Dark Angels. He bore the Lance of Atragon, a weapon that lay low a mighty demon of Chaos, even as the fell beast smote him down. As the revellers drew near their goal, the holy bolters roared to life, scything down the followers of darkness like so much rotten grass. The lance flared brightly with the Emperor's light as the reliquary and its bearers surged forwards, its pointing finding home in the reeking armor of the foul sorcerer. 

Since the events of that blessed night, a new victory is celebrated every year on the night of the revels, and pilgrims have since flocked to the town. A new church has been erected where the ruins of the old one stood, and voices therein are uplifted in thanks and praise to the God-Emperor of Mankind. 

And little Elsa? Well, that is another tale.....

Rackham Dwarves for Sale!

I'm selling a selection of OOP metal Rackham dwarf models to thin out my sizable collection and, more importantly, pay some bills. If interested, click here and bid because once they're gone, they're gone!

Models on sale are shown below: 

Heresy Hunter Dominators

So Wargames Exclusive continues to out GW GW, and this economical set of armored inquisitorial sisters is no exception. They're selling for 14.99 euros separately and 34.99 euros as set, so I recommend buying them before WE figures out they're giving a mini away. I've just finished the outer two, having painted the center one as soon as I got it and forgotten about the others until recently. Shame on me, because the other two are excellent as well. 

The detail on these things is just stunning, especially the longsword-toting center girl with her commanding pose. 

The Shieldmaiden gave me real pause until I found how easy she was to drill and pin. That enormous shield and forearm has a socket that's perfect for paperclip pinning, and the light durable resin weighs next to nothing, so it turned out not to be an issue. Of course, I don't plan on transporting her around on a regular basis either. 

I mean, look at that bloody big thing. It's wonderful. If it were cast in glorious metal it would weigh a ton and be an utter pain to keep attached, and I would love it anyway. 

Her backpack, alas, didn't get the same loving treatment as the Swordmaiden's did with its book and purity seal. The sculpting isn't very deep on the =I= and wings, so the paint just sort of sits on it. The pipes align pretty well with the sockets on the legs, however, just as with the other two girls, and didn't require any reshaping. 

Dual-Swords Sister's weapons and their positioning also concerned me until I realized her sculpted base included contact points to support them. If they sold these choppers as bits I have no doubt they'd make their way into many a conversion. 

Here is where the resin fails, however; the pommel of her lefthand one came off. It was more or less easily reattached, however, but I wish they'd sculpted it flush with the top of her hand. On the right you can see the little bit of resin between the top of her gauntlet and the pommel, and that's just enough for the thing to pivot under pressure. Ah well.