Ape-X is another Reaper Bones miniature from the first Kickstarter. I decided that I was tired of doing brown all the time, so went for green. Giant mutant cyborg gorillas don’t have to be realistic, right?
I kept it really simple, just a basecoat, wash, and drybrush. It’s not going to win any awards, but it still looks nice.
Updated February 2018 with improved images.
I bought these metal assault terminators back in the days of yore, and painted them up a couple years ago, when I got back into 40k. At the time I left them on the 25mm bases they came with, but always felt a little dirty using them. The time had come to make the move to 40mm, like modern terminators.
I was worried about them looking small on the new bases, so I decided to go for some Secret Weapon urban bases, like I used on the Deathwatch squad.
I decided to play with some weathering powders. I was planning on putting some of the static grass and flock I use for most of the army, to bring it together, so put in some browns in a few places to represent dirt coming through the cracked asphalt. I also tried putting some red around some of the bricks, to try to represent some bricks getting crushed and spread out, though I don’t think it really worked too well.
I snapped off the old bases and cut off the metal tab with a razor saw. The feet needed a little touching up with black paint from where I cut. I found a spot on each base where the feet would be flat, and pinned them in.
All in all I think they fill the base out pretty nicely, especially the lightning claws. Here you can see the static grass which hopefully ties it into the rest of the army.
Someday I might rebase everybody, but for now I’m telling myself that they’re tied in closely enough.
Updated September 2018 with improved images.
I’ve slowed down on the Random Rursday thing. I found it had become something of a chore, and I stopped getting Thursday nights as reliable hobby nights. I also found I wasn’t really giving enough time for paint to dry between stages.
I’m still painting some random miniatures between other projects, just without a specific schedule.
The Griffon is a Reaper Bones model. I like the textures in the fur and in the feathers. The base even is a bit more interesting than most of the Reaper models, with some stones sculpted in.
I regret not doing a bit more variation in the front section, especially on the wings. This is a big enough model that it looks kind of sparse. On the other hand, I’m not sure I wanted to spend much more time on this model.
I put some flock and static grass on the base, because I wasn’t very happy with how my painting of the grassy parts turned out.
Updated February 2018 with improved images.
I think this model qualifies as my longest-running work-in-progress. It’s a leftover from my 2nd/3rd edition days, although it sat as bare, so wasn’t really in progress. In May 2012, I played in a “de-escalation” event at KublaCon. After each game, there was a chance that any models killed would stay dead for the next game. There was a bonus to vehicle rolls if you brought a Techmarine or equivalent. I wasn’t as strict about only playing with painted models then, but I gave this guy a quick red spray with the airbrush so at least it wasn’t completely bare. And there he sat, unloved, for two and a half years.
Part of my backlog is anything with paint, so I needed to get this guy done. I decided to do most of the detail work (wires and stuff) in blue, to try to tie it into the rest of the army a bit.
The model has a power axe, so WYSIWIG demands I take it on my list. It’s kind of a silly upgrade though — he already has a servo arm, which is S8 AP1 Unwieldy. For 15 points, he has can use the axe instead, which is S5 AP2 Unwieldy, but grants an extra attack, since it isn’t a Specialist Weapon. That’s a lot of points for very little utility.
I can’t bring myself to change the model, though. Maybe I could call it a lightning claw. That would give the option of Shredding at S4/AP3, plus give an extra attack with either the servo arm or lightning claw, since they’re both specialist weapons.
I try to shoehorn any newly completed model into my next game, so I took this model in my campaign game last weekend. He pulled his own. I gave him an Auspex and put him in a drop pod with Sicarius and half a tactical squad. He ended up mostly being a cover granting/denying dude. He bolstered a ruin which contained snipers and a missile launcher combat squad, and used his auspex to remove the cover from a pile of cultists.
His unit ended up charging an inquisitor and his retinue, which included a servitor. I was very sad that a random marine took out the servitor before the techmarine could disassemble him.
I think I’m going to turn my attention to a few Reaper models I’ve had primed for a while before coming back to the few remaining marines.
Updated July 2018 with improved images.
