Apocalypse Terrain: Sewage Works and Aqueduct Projects

These last 2 days I've been consumed by a flurry of terrain building in order to get ready for an Apocalypse game on Saturday! This meant moving on with the Aqueduct and Sewage Works projects.

I quickly finished the Pump Station i showed you on Tuesday. I literally slapped some basic colours on it, which only took me an hour or two. This is my general approach to terrain pieces - quick, easy, but catches the eye! We don't want our terrain pieces out shining our minis now do we!

Some Cog Mechanicum details.

Rust detailing. You can see here where the plaster-cast panels didn't fit together very well (hence my switch back to resin) Its these areas where i concentrated my weathering powders. Its not bad construction, just wear and tear.....sort of!

The roof. A small amount of weathering powders were applied to the vents and access hatches.

This brings the Sewage Works project to a potential close. I say potential because i was toying with the idea of making 'submerged' sewage processors out of the lids of the containers i used for the larger processors. I'll set it all up on Saturday and see if its enough to cover a 6x4ft area. Combined with the over-ground pipes I'll use for scatter terrain (see below) I'm confident it'll be enough.

Next up  is the long neglected Aqueduct Project! I've constructed another two 2ft straight sections for the project, giving me just under 7ft of Aqueduct in total!

And here it is assembled! It should look great on the gaming table! This completes this project, but i may add some curved sections in the future.

 (Tyranids and Tyrano-Cat for scale purposes only!)

Finally, the over ground pipes. I bought a set of these from Evil Mushroom Games a while back (here's the original post) and they've been sitting on my desk since then! While i was in the mood, i got them painted up! I have to say, they look great!

You can obviously assemble any number of configurations, and the pieces fit together well. Its these pipes that will compliment the Sewage Works, providing loads more cover. Once i set it all out, I'll decide if i need any more, and if i need to construct some 'submerged' processors.

Looking good there lads!

Phew! Think i need to go for a bracing walk and get some fresh air! To much time in a room with White Spirit and Araldite fumes!! I'll have some pictures of the Apoc' game up on Monday as well so you'll ge to see all this terrain in action!

The GunGrave

Necron Ghost Ark and Apoc' Terrain

With my spine on the mend after a week off at the family home, I've been able to get much more hobby done over the last few days.

First up its the second and last Ghost Ark for my Necron list. There was a bit of a drama yesterday after i completed this model! I got a bit trigger happy with the spray varnish, and as a result, i made about 50% of the vehicle 'fluffy' with excess varnish! ARGH! This morning I've had to repaint one side of the Ark to put it right! Very frustrating but its done now!

You may remember the Pump Station i made a few weeks ago for the Apocalypse Terrain: Sewage Works project. Well, the completed building has been sitting on my desk untouched since i posted about it! Today it was time to get this thing painted. With an 2 day Apoc' game coming up at the weekend, i wanted to get this done ready for the big game! This is where i am at the moment, but  i hope to have this guy completed by the end of the day.

The GunGrave

Necron Warrior Squad and 1750pt Army List

The back problems I mentioned in the last post have really been hampering my attempts to crack on with the Necrons. Some progress has been made though; a Warrior Squad and 6 Scarab Bases.

The next 12 Warriors. I forgot to wash the resin bases before painting, which has lead to the paint not sticking properly around the edges of the base. Now they're varnished, i'll try paiinting them again and see if it sticks!!

These are the Scarab Bases that came with the Warrior sets. Painted in the same
scheme as the Warriors.

Here are some pictures of the Gauss Blaster rods. I used the marble paint again, and had much better results! There's defiinately a knack to it. Only one out of the 12 wasn't quite as i wanted it. Below are some of the rods from this batch.

Finally, the army list. I've never been that great at writting lists, but always managed to get a decent one together in the end. The Necrons have made list writting a real pain in the arse though! I usually make a 'take on all comers' list, or at least something close to it! I just can't seem to get that here. The army list feels very...modular to me, if that makes any sense!! Each section seems to have to compliment the other, and the player needs to have a firm idea of the strategy he or she is going to use.

That being said, i've tried to make a list that has:

• Plenty of Troop choices
• Transports
• Anti Tank

Seems pretty standard, but it helped me put this list together. See what you think:

HQ

Necron Overlord – 185pts

·         Phaeron – 20pts

·         Sempiternal Weave – 15pts

·         Resurrection Orb – 30pts

·         Tachyon Arrow – 30pts

Cryptek – 55pts

·         Harbinger of Destruction with Eldritch Lance – 10pts

·         Solar Pulse – 20pts

Cryptek – 35pts

·         Harbinger of Destruction with Eldritch Lance – 10pts

Cryptek – 55pts

·         Harbinger of Transmogrification with Tremorstave – 5pts

·         Harp of Dissonance – 25pts

Troops

Necron Warriors – 232pts

·         9 Necron Warriors - 117

·         Ghost Ark Dedicated Transport – 115pts

Necron Warriors – 232pts

·         9 Necron Warriors - 117

·         Ghost Ark Dedicated Transport – 115pts

Necron Warriors – 130pts

·         10 Necron Warriors

Immortals – 85pts

·         5 Immortals with Gauss Blasters

Immortals – 185pts

·         5 Immortals with Gauss Blasters

·         Night Scythe Dedicated Transport – 100pts

Heavy Support

Monolith – 200pts

Doomsday Ark – 175pts

Doomsday Ark – 175pts                                     

1,749pts

The list is pretty self explanatory for most part. I don't see a lot of Doomsday Arks in the 'Net lists, but i think that S9 AP2 gun is underrated (and i LOVE the model!). I'll probably sit one of these in each corner of my deployment zone and blast away for as long as possible. Yes they'll be vunerable to Deep Strikers and Infiltrators - but isn't everything...?

The Warriors and Ghost Arks will be securing and babysitting objectives, supported by attached Crypteks. The 'Arks will provide fire support and spare Warriors as nessesary. The 5/10 strong Immortals (i'll decide on the day how large the squad will be) and the attached Overlord will be providing my mobile support in the Night Scythe, going where they are needed most. The Overlord is excessivly tooled up, simply because i had the points to burn. I was going to spend those points on Scarabs, but i'll try a few playtests first.

Finally the Monolith. Again, these guys seem to get a bad rep' in this Necron incarnation. Having not played Necrons before, i guess i don't feel that effect as acutely as others, but theyre still a AV 14/14/14 tank with a load of guns which can put pressure on multiple units each shooting phase. His main role will be Fire Magnet and moving units around the field with his Portal, as well as Fire Support.

I'm sure this list will change as games progress and new models are released. I love the looks of the 'Stalkers, and think their Twin Linked-confering abillity will prove invaluble so im sure they'll make an appearance. We'll see how it goes. For the time being, i'd love to hear peoples thoughts on the list!

The GunGrave

Necron Doomsday Ark

Its been a slow week on the modelling front, for two reasons; firstly I’ve got s prolapsed spinal disc which makes it very painful to do anything but lay flat on the sofa!  Secondly, the excessive sofa laying has lead to an obsession with ‘Elder Scrolls IV: Skyrim’ that Mrs GunGrave kindly picked up for me to play over my 3 weeks sick leave!!

That being said, I did manage to get the finishing touches done on my first Doomsday Ark, as it was mostly complete before I was injured. 



Some more sinister engine-glowy-goodness!

The front of the Doomsday Cannon. I couldn't make the barrel glow with the same colour as the Gauss Blasters, because the paint is to thick and would kill my airbrush. A tiny glow of Scorpion Green was used instead.

Here's how the armies shaping up so far! Theres another Ghost Ark and Warrior squad in the post and should be here tomorrow (ordered before i hurt myself!) so the force is expanding rapidly. I hope for get some work done on them over the next 3 weeks.

I also received my Long fangs from eBay - eventually! Fortunately i only had to make a squad leader and the rest can stay as they are; albeit with a Space Wolf colour scheme. Gonna try and fit them in at some point soon.

That's where i am at the moment. With all this time off on my hands, I'm really hoping to hit the hobby hard next week, and even do some more work on the Apocalypse Terrain: Promethium Refinery project. Finishing the Aqueduct and Sewage Works Pump Station will be on the top of that list.

The GunGrave

Rise of the Necrons!

They're finally here! Well, they have been for nearly a week now, and i have not been idle in that time! This is to be my very first Necron army and i wanted to get off to a flying start!

So here are the units that I've completed so far (well, actually this lot takes me up until Tuesday just gone!)

Necron Warrior Squad. The first of three squads i have planned for my list! I used Army Painters 'Plate Mail Metal' metallic primer. This stuff makes painting Necrons a doddle! Its Boltgun Metal in a can, and you don't even need to undercoat the models first. Then i dipped them in 'Army Painters' Strong Tone Quickshade, another must-have for Necron army builders! Simply, dip, wipe off the excess, and leave to dry! Its also a varnish, but its a bit to glossy for me so i sprayed them lightly with Purity Seal afterwards.



The Gauss rods got a bit of attention here. I had the idea of using green Marble Paint to try and create a interesting effect! You put a few drops of this paint into a bowl of water, swirl it around a bit, then dip your Necron Gun Rod into the water. What you should get is a nice marble pattern, much like to one below!

Now it should be said that this is one of the better Gauss Rods! It takes a bit of trial and error to get the technique right, and about 4 of my Warriors have dodgy Gauss Rods as a result! But once you've got the hang of it, its worth it! I also plan to apply this pattern to the crystal atop a Monolith as well!

Next up is a five strong squad of Immortals with Gauss Blasters. I painted the Blasters with the same Marble Paint as the Warriors, which i think came out well. I of course didn't dip these into the marble paint, but instead had to paint it straight on. The effect isn't quite the same, but close enough for consistency. I also went with black shoulder guards to make them stand out from the grunts a bit more. I applied a very subtle highlight of Dark Angles Green to the edges of the pads to break it up a bit. 

Finally, the icing on the cake! The first of two Ghost Arks! now, I LOVE this kit! It took ages to put together and paint, but it was well worth the effort! This is the first kit that I've put together for ages where i thought "I'm really getting my moneys worth here"! Definitely words you wouldn't associate with GW at the moment!

Starting with a base coat of  Chaos Black, i edge highlighted all the angles with Snot Green and then did the same with Emerald Green. The Warriors were painted in the same way as the ones above and the Gauss weapons had the same treatment as the Immortals weapons.

I used an airbrush to apply Emerald Green to the power source and the engine outlets. I think this gives a really sinister feel to the vehicle! I love it!

One thing i will say about this kit: you'll need to paint a lot of it before assembling! It probably goes without saying but there it is. You've been warned!

On the table now is a half build Doomsday Ark, which will probably be half painted by the time this post goes up! Its full steam ahead for the Necons, and i hope to have this army built and painted by Christmas! I'll also post an army list next week for dissection!

The GunGrave

Vlka Fenryka: Logan Grimnar Complete

No WIP shots for this guy - he unfortunately suffered the same treatment as Arjac, and stayed half finished for ages! So without further ado, here he is!

Pelt detail. Logans pelt is grey/white as opposed to the brown/white pelts found in the rest of the army. Firstly to differentiate him from the rest of the army, secondly, i wanted the Old Wolf to have the pelt of an old wolf as well!

The Axe of Morkai. I used an airbrush to apply the fuzzy red patches of Red Gore and then applied a Blood Red highlight down the length of the blade. I didn't want to use the frosty effect that I've used on the rest of the armies Power Weapons, as this is meant to be a Warp forged blade (which i find highly unusual considering the Wolves' aversion to the Warp - to the point where they won't use Telaporters!!) You'll also notice that I've left the right shoulder pad plain black. I wanted to apply the Great Wolf transfer onto the pad and paint over it in Skull White. This was bloody hard, so i scrapped the idea. So, when in doubt - do nothing! Until i think of  an easy way to get a white Great Wolf transfer onto his shoulder pad, it'll remain blank!

This brings me within spitting distance of army completion! Good job to with the new Necron Codex sitting on my desk and a pile of cool models! Just one more Lone Wolf and a squad of Long Fangs (which are on their was from eBay) and we're good!

Then I'll be turning my attentions to chrome-clad immortality.....

Until next winter.....

The GunGrave

Sewage Woks: Pump Station Built

Last post i mentioned that i was constructing a Pumping Station for the Sewage Works Sub-Project. Over the weekend it was finished!

This building was made entirely of cast resin panels. I also tried casting the panels in plaster to try and minimise the cost. Although the detail as OK, it was a real pain to work with. It seemed to reject any type of glue used to fix the panels, and the PVA i eventually used took about 3 days to dry properly!! I won't use plaster for building panels again, but it'll be fine for other less detailed moulds.

The roofs on the towers are just cardboard which will be painted to look like corrugated iron sheets. I wasn't just being lazy here! I went for flat roofs to make storage in a box easier! If I'd used GW building railings, the I'd be forever gluing the spikes back on!!

The side of the Pumping Station. By this time i was fed up of the plaster, and used resin for the pipes!



Roof detail. As you can see, theres a large roof space, great for playability. 

Here's a shot of all the buildings together:

Those over ground pipes i ordered from Evil Mushroom Games arrives at the end of last week as well. They're resin cast and of medium/high quality. They cost me about £15 and will provide a good bit of scatter terrain for this board. 



Finally, these are the lids off of the containers i used for the sewage processors. I toyed with the idea of making some submerged/ground level processors as well to bulk up the board a bit. I saw these in the bin and the idea struck me! They'd be perfect for this: right size, right height and have a decent ridge around the edge. All I'd have to do is build some sort of 'shit-stirer' for the middle and mount them on a more solid base!

By the time this post goes up I'd have already started painting the Pumping Station, and the other Processors and Pipes will probably be on their was as well. That being said the Necrons are released, so expect some news on them as well!

The GunGrave