Coach Upbeat As Losing Streak Continues.

Green Glade Hackers Head Coach 'Unlucky' Lysenko has today defended yet another poor showing from the Wood Elf team.

Despite heavy spending on new players, namely treeman 'The Outrageous' Girth, the Hackers still failed to secure a win against Orc team The World Eaters, who beat them 1-0.

'All I can ask is that the fans give it time,' he begged at the post-match press conference.  'As a team, the balance felt right.  I can understand fans' frustration at the loss, but it was a narrow loss and the best we've played for a long while.'

He went on to blame this latest defeat on a lot of bad luck and one, he admits, poor coaching decision at the kick-off.

'We were too close when the Orcs received the ball, right from the get-go.  They made a Quick Snap and were right on top of us, ready to pound, before we even knew what had (quite literally) hit us.'

Fans agree, especially after watching three Line-Elves get killed in the first moments of the match, two from the very first Blocks.

Coach Lysenko however praised Girth for his outstanding work on the scrimmage line, keeping many of the Orcs and indeed the team's Ogre bogged down for the majority of the first half.

As if to cement the Head Coach's unfortunate-yet-apt nickname, an equalizer and winning touchdown were snatched away by a poor attempt to catch the ball and an unlucky trip at the end of the first and second halves, respectively.

When asked if he still believed that the Green Glade Hackers could win the upcoming Bunker Bowl tournament, Coach Lysenko was adamant:

'No.  But we won't come last either.'

Look, Power Armour is 80% of the Model!!

Alright, alright, it's still really slow going!  But I only have one more extreme highlight to add to the armour of my Blood Claws before I can start on the details.

So, although it's taken me almost a week - but please believe me, I've missed a lot of days due to DIY-ing - I should get the rest of the miniatures polished off in short-order.

In fact, I'm determined to get them done before I go to Games Day, after which I'll be on holiday for a week.  It'll be great, but I'll really miss the painting.  I may try and sneak my paints into the car...

I've hit a brick wall with my Treeman as I've run out of Green Stuff and my local Games Workshop is closed for the next THREE DAYS!!  Madness, I know, but hopefully Mail-Order will get my large bases and Green Stuff to me by Tuesday so that I can at least base him before his first try-out Blood Bowl match on Wednesday evening.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that it all seems to be taking forever at the moment, but it'll be worth it in the end.

It better be worth it in the end...

Slow And Steady May Win The Race...

...But it certainly never got a 3,000 point army painted!

I feel like I've been very slack with the blog just lately.  Much as it may bore and annoy you all, I do quite like making at least one entry a day - but recently I've been busy with other things.

Still, I feel like I'm picking up some small head of steam with my Great Howling, although I did spend the whole night painting the mid-tone onto the armour of THREE Blood Claws.  Hopefully once this stage is complete though, it'll all get much quicker.

As ever, my methods of painting are evolving, and now, when it comes to painting my as-yet-not-owned Battle Forces, I have decided that instead of spraying the basecoat, shading down and then re-applying the base, I'm going to have a go at spraying the shading layer on and then painting upwards from there.

There is of course the danger that the mid-tone will become too dull and muddy, leaving me to apply two or three coats of the Shadow Grey / Space Wolves Grey mix, so I'll definitely try it on just one miniature first...

In other news...

My Blood Bowl Treeman is coming on - well, I won't say 'a treat', more like 'adequately'.  It's always so difficult (to me, at least) to tell how things are looking with Green Stuff until the miniature is actually painted.

I had originally thought that sculpting tree bits would be relatively simple, but I find that my (very inexperienced) sculpting skills lack quite a lot when it comes to giving hard, defined edges.  At the moment, I'm putting on the putty, leaving it to set for an hour or so, then sculpting.  After that, I leave it for twenty-four hours before using a sharp modelling blade carve away any unwanted smoothness:

Above you can see where I've added some extra branches to give the impression of hair and below is a side-on picture showing the work so far on the 'elbow' of the extra branch that will curl around his side.

Underneath you can see quite a nice view of how the branch will be growing out of the Treeman's back...

As you can see from the larger branch, I'm having to build the sculpt up in several sections, so the model will take quite a few days to finish.  I'm not sure this is the normal method of creating something this large, but I am finding it much easier to complete in stages.

Hopefully I'll be adding some more tomorrow, but I'm almost out of Green Stuff and aren't sure when I'll next be able to get into town to replenish my stock.  When I do, I also need to grab a large round base (Blood Bowl uses round instead of square bases) to 'root' him to before I can begin to paint...

In the mean time, if anyone knows of any good articles on sculpting Green Stuff, a link would be very much appreciated!

Back in the Game.

Well, after spending a week away from the painting table, up to my neck in pipes, valves, washers, plaster and flooring, I have to say that I've missed it mightily!

I now have running water in my house, which is lovely, but I can't wait to slip back into the habit of painting every day.

Not that I actually did any painting today though...

I had intended to put the basecoat onto some of my Blood Claws (I'm going to paint the squad in two smaller packs of five Wolves instead of attempting all ten in one go), but the weather was thoroughly against me.  It was in fact pouring down and by all accounts will be for the next few days.  So, I put away my GW spray gun and decided to hand-paint the basecoat.  In all honesty, this probably won't lengthen the painting process much as it cuts out the tidying-up phase of painting all of the non-armour back to black again.

Before I could put paint to Power Armour though, I needed to gravel the bases.  It may seem a bit backwards, but I now tend to model and paint the tops of the bases first because (I may have mentioned this before) I can't help rushing them when they're the last thing to do on the piece.  Unfortunately, although there are a great many beautifully-based miniatures out there, for a lot of people the base tends to be an afterthought.  I like to get them done now while the excitement for the project is uber-fresh - and it also means that there is no danger of me making any slips and splashing paint all over the miniature's feet (we've all done it a million times!).  The best of it is that because I'm going to 'snow' the bases at the end, any slips the other way, from miniature to base, can be easily covered.

As a small asside, in preparation for the upcoming Bunker Bowl Blood Bowl tournament, I also started converting my new Treeman miniature.  Well, I say 'new', but I actually mean 'bought part-painted-yet-cheap on eBay'.

The tricky thing was, I wanted to make him a bit more exciting with a few more branches sticking out for 'hair' and another larger branch to make his body more tree-like and less humanoid - but when it comes to Blood Bowl, large creatures are an absolute pain in the backside because they occupy one square in game terms, yet take up about four physically.  This can make it difficult to get other players into his Tackle Zones (although who'd be stupid enough to stand next to an angry Treeman, I don't know!) so I don't want to increase the actual silhouette size of him.

The three strands of 'hair' certainly won't, but the extra brach might yet - although the twists and bends aren't in their final postion yet - I'll shape it more once the glue has dried...

Wherever the final position of the branch rests though, this will definitely be the most tricky Green Stuff sculpting I've yet attempted.

Wish me luck!!!

Codex Painting: Space Wolves.

Being a reference guide to the stages of painting, and the colourations thereof, of

Sven Bloodhowl's Great Howling.

STAGE I - PREPARATION:

i. Undercoat with Chaos Black Spray.

ii. Spray with 1:1 mix of Shadow Grey and Space Wolves Grey.
iii. Black out non-Power Armour areas using Chaos Black.

STAGE II - BASING:

i. Glue gravel to base using PVA.

ii. Paint gravel with Regal Blue.

iii.  Drybrush with Ice Blue.

iv.  Drybrush with Skull White.

STAGE IV -  POWER ARMOUR:

i.  Shade recesses with 1:1 mix of Scorched Brown and Fenris Grey.

ii. (optional) Tidy edges with mix from stage (I[i]).

iii. Highlight edges with pure Space Wolves Grey.

iv. Apply an extreme highlight with a 1:1 mix of Space Wolves Grey and Skull White.

STAGE V - BLACK AREAS:

i. (optional) Tidy black areas with Chaos Black.

ii. Highlight with Regal Blue.

iii. Extreme highlight with Codex Grey.

iv. Wash areas with Badab Black.

OR

'EAVY METAL METHOD:

i. (optional) Tidy black areas with Chaos Black.
ii. Highlight with Codex Grey.
iii. Highlight with Fortress Grey.

STAGE VI - GOLD / METALLICS:

i. Apply a 1:1 mix of Scorched Brown and Shining Gold.

ii. Wash with a 1:1 mix of Scorched Brown and Badab Black.

iii. Highlight with Shining Gold.

iv. Highlight with Burnished Gold.

v. Extreme highlight of Mithril Silver.

vi. Wash areas with Leviathan Purple.

STAGE VII - FUR (Method [i]):

i. Basecoat with Bestial Brown.

ii. Build up highlights by gradually adding Bleached Bone.

iii. Extreme highlight of Bleached Bone.

iv. Apply an Ogryn Flesh wash.

v. Apply Skull White as an extreme highlight.

vi. Wash with Gryphonne Sepia.

STAGE VII - FUR (Method [ii]):

i. Basecoat with Scorched Brown over several thin layers.

ii. Highlight with Bestial Brown, more heavily towards edges.

iii. Apply Vomit Brown, drybrushed towards the centre, but painted at the edges.

iv. Highlight with Bleached Bone, using the same method as above.

v. Apply an extreme highlight of Skull White.

vi.  Wash with Gryphonne Sepia.

vii.  Wash with Ogryn Flesh.

STAGE VIII - ANIMAL SKINS / TONGUES:

i.  Basecoat with Scab Red.

ii.  Gradually build up highlights using Bleached Bone.

iii. Extreme highlight of Bleached Bone.

iv. Wash with Leviathan Purple.

STAGE IX - BONE / STONE / PARCHMENT:

i. Basecoat with Bestial Brown.

ii. Highlight with Snakebite Leather.

iii. Highlight further with a 1:1 mix of Snakebite Leather and Bleached Bone.

iv. Add another highlight, this time of Bleached Bone.

v. Extreme highlight with Skull White.

STAGE X - HAIR:

i.  Basecoat Bestial Brown.

ii. Layer with Blazing Orange.

iii. Wash with Ogryn Flesh.

iv. Apply a second Ogryn Flesh wash.

v. Highlight with Dwarf Flesh.

vi. Add a final highlight of Bleached Bone.

vii. Glaze with Baal Red.

STAGE XI - FACE:

i. Basecoat with a 1:1 mix of Vermin Brown and Scorched Brown.

ii. Layer with a 2:1:1 mix of Dwarf Flesh, Vermin Brown, and Scorched Brown.

iii. Layer with pure Dwarf Flesh.

iv. Highlight with a 1:1 mix of Dwarf Flesh and Skull White.

v. Highlight further with a 3:1 mix of Skull White and Bleached Bone.

vi. Wash with a 1:1 mix of Gryphonne Sepia and Ogryn Flesh.

vii.  Wash Regal Blue into the recesses.

viii. Paint the whites of the eyes with Tausept Ochre.

ix. Highlight the whites of the eyes with a 1:1 mix of Golden Yellow and Skull White.

x. Paint the teeth with Bleached Bone, and highlight with Skull White.

STAGE XII (OPTIONAL) - TATTOOS:

i. Paint area Dark Angels Green.

ii. Build up the colour with a 3:1 mix of Hawk Turquoise and Dark Angels Green.

iii. Highlight with Hawk Turquoise.

iv. Extreme highlight using a 1:1 mix of Hawk Turquoise and Skull White.

STAGE XIII (OPTIONAL) - PLASMA / POWER WEAPONS:

i. Paint the area Dark Angels Green.

ii. Highlight with Snot Green.

iii. Highlight with Scorpion Green.

iv. Extreme highlight using a 3:1 mix of Skull White and Scorpion Green.

v. Final highlight of Skull White.

STAGE XIV(i) - SHOULDER PADS [RED]:

i. Basecoat with a 2:1 mix of Blood Red and Dark Flesh.

ii. Shade with a 1:1 mix of Dark Flesh and Chaos Black.

iii. Highlight with Blood Red.

iv. Highlight with Blazing Orange.

v. Extreme highlight of Vomit Brown.

STAGE XIV(ii) - SHOULDER PADS [YELLOW]:

i. Basecoat Tausept Ochre.

ii. Layer with a 1:1 mix of Tausept Ochre and Golden Yellow.

iii. Finally highlight with a 1:1:1 mix of the above, plus Skull White.

STAGE XV - PURITY SEALS:

i. Basecoat Red Gore.

ii. Add a 3:1 mix of Red Gore and Fortress Grey.

iii. Highlight with a 1:1 mix of Red Gore and Fortress Grey.

iv.  Highlight with a 1:3 mix of Red Gore and Fortress Grey.

v.  Wash with Leviathon Purple.

vi.  Highlight with Fortress Grey.

STAGE XVI - RED STRAPPING / GEMS:

i.  Basecoat with Mechrite Red.

ii. Layer with Blood Red.

iii. Highlight with Blazing Orange.

iv. Extreme highlight of Vomit Brown.

v. Wash with Baal Red.

vi. (optional) Extreme highlight of Skull White for gems.

STAGE XVII - FINISHING:

i. Paint edge of base Calthan Brown.

ii. Use Skull White to apply snow to top of base.

iii. Apply any final touch-ups and fixes.

iv. Apply Great Company transfer to appropriate shoulder pad.

v. Varnish with Purity Seal spray.

vi. Paint around edges of transfers where necessary.

GLORY BE TO THE ALLFATHER!

My Work Here Is Done...

Finished 'Test' Space Wolf:  PASS.

Ease / Speed Of Painting Full Army:  EPIC FAIL!

I absolutely love the look of the initial Space Wolf Blood Claw that I've painted, and think that when I eventually finish my Space Wolves army, it is going to look stunning on the battlefield.  However, I dread to think how long they're going to take.

After trying to strike a balance between quality and speed, I think that quality won.

But you never know, once I get into the swing of it, and get in some production-line painting, I may be able to get through a squad every couple of weeks.  If not, the next Codex may be out before a single shot is fired!

Rather depressingly, now I should be on a roll with my painting, I have to stop for about a week because I'm fitting a new bathroom.  No idea what I'm doing.  Never done it before.  Might take a little while.

Still, I've got plenty of Green Stuff, so if I get bored I could always convert the bath into a Land Raider.

Not sure how my wife would feel about that...

Anyway, if I do get a chance to blog at all, I may be able to publish a Colour Codex for my army, detailing (as much for my benefit as anyone else's) every colour mix and technique for the various parts of my army.

As well as that, I thought I may do a couple of one-off articles focussing on individuals from my currently-ill-fated Blood Bowl team...

As long as I don't flood the house, of course.

New Blood Needed After 2-0 Defeat, Coach Urges.

Embattled Green Glade Hackers Coach, 'Unlucky' Darren Lysenko has urged the team's financiers that money needs to be spent if the team are to be in with a chance of performing at the upcoming Bunker Bowl Tournament.

The Hackers suffered yet another embarrassing defeat last night, to the jeers of both home and rival fans.  One Wardancer - Stormwind the Golden Tornado - was even booed by raucous Hackers fans as he was carried almost-lifeless from the pitch.

The Zharr-Naggrund Thrones - the Chaos Dwarf team which heralded the beginning of the Hackers' current run of bad luck - pummelled the Wood Elf team into a 2-0 deafeat, re-igniting calls for the sacking of the team's Head Coach.

'Unlucky' Lysenko urged calm, and called for reflection upon the team's recent defeats.

'We're getting crushed from the outset.  The minute the ball first hits grass, half our line are out of action.  We need something that can bolster our scrimmage line.  We need a Treeman!'

These calls have been welcomed by most fans, although some assistant coaching staff have expressed concerns about where the gold for such a high-profile purchase may come from.

'The thing is, tee-hee,' giggled Page-Tree stunna Wynona Cherry-Blossom, Hackers cheerleader.  'It's fine to talk about what we could do with all of these extra boys running around, but boys cost money, don't they?  What about m - ?  I mean, what about the rest of the coaching staff?  Are we going to lose ours jobs over this?'

Only one person can answer that question - and that person is the one voted most likely by fans to be out on their ear before the start of next season.