Iron Sleet Invitational: Naval officer Nils Fernow

These dying days.

March is rapidly approaching an end, and that means Iron Sleet’s first Invitational is coming to an end! I am excited to say that one more of my models for the entry is complete: Nils Fernow, First Security Officer of the Saudor 23rd Imperial Navy, affectionately know as the “Voidstalkers.” I was a bit concerned that Nils would take significantly more time to paint then the pragmatic Anton Soljic, due to the increased complexity of the model (all the different layers of clothing…). Fortunately, that did not really seem to be the case, and I as I began painting the model came together quite nicely. Like Inquisitor Soljic, Nils is painted in dull earthy colors (though it is a little tricky to tell due to the greyscale images). Based on suggestions here, and from the Ammobunker, I decided to add an accent color to the inside of his cloak, as well as paint an =][= on one the the clasps holding it in place.  My excitement having finished Fernow was great enough that I knew I needed to put up some pictures to share with everyone, even if they are sepia toned for the time being, before they are finally revealed in April.

Deredeo Dreadnought: Unboxing

Iron Within, Iron Without!

Since I became invested in the hobby years ago, I have been enthralled by the design and concept behind the Space Marine dreadnought, and I doubt that I am the only one.  There is something intriguing about these sepulchral walking tanks, primarily stemming from their utilitarian function of saving a heroic warrior from the verge of death, giving them the opportunity to fight once more.  Although they had some comical renditions in the beginning (a walking peanut), since the 2nd edition, they have looked like a squat walking sarcophagus of adamantium, complete with stubby gun arms, a drum-like powerfist, and a rectangular sarcophagi in the center.  This has become a cornerstone in the Space Marine aesthetic. Forge World, always wanting to shake things up a bit, released a new pattern of dreadnought loosely based on some old models a couple years back, the Contemptor.  Although reminiscent to its smaller cousin, it is bulkier, with a more rounded design.  Coupled with its separate head and its more articulated legs, the Contemptor is a far more agile and believable walker.  SInce its release, Forge World has produced numerous Contemptor dreadnoughts, including many chapter specific ones.  Just when we were all getting used to this new dreadnought, Forge World decided to release yet another variant, the Deredeo dreadnought.  Although reminiscent to the Contemptor, the Deredeo is slightly bigger, and serves as a dedicated weapons platform.  My fascination with dreadnoughts made ordering one of these Deredeo variants an inevitability, and a few weeks ago I got it in the mail, and thought you all might be interested in seeing what comes with the model.

Iron Sleet Invitational: Inquisitor Lucanus Molnár and Naval officer Nils Fernow

Communication Breakdown.

With it being a little over a week into March, the deadline for the Iron Sleet Invitational is fast approaching. I have never put so much time into converting a group of three models, but I think it has been paying off. I am happy to announce that the last two models, Inquisitor Lucanus Molnár of the Ordo Machinum and Naval officer Nils Fernow, are finally finished!  Rather than swamping you with too much text (which I am often prone to doing), I thought I would just show you some pictures of the models!  As always comments and suggestions are welcome.  I would be particularly interested in hearing peoples’ thoughts on color schemes, as I am gearing up to start painting them.

Iron Sleet Invitational: Painting Inquisitor Soljic, Ordo Xenos

Inquisitor Anton Soljic - Thorian

In the 15+ years that I have been a part of this hobby, I have always been building and converting models.  Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about painting them.  There were a few good years were I was consistently painting, and managed to enter some models into the Golden Daemon painting competition at the Baltimore Gamesday, but that was over 7 years ago.  Since then, I put the brush down, citing a lack of time due to graduate work (which is the truth!).  But over the last two years since starting this blog, my desire to take up painting again has steadily increased.  After an absence of so many years, it is a difficult thing to start up again. In fact, all of my paints were dried or misplaced, along with all my brushes! Despite this, I began to collect new supplies towards the end of last year, including getting my first airbrush!  With new painting materials gathered, all that was left to wait for was some inspiration to trigger my foray into painting again.  As it turns out, that muse was being invited to participate in the first Iron Sleet Invitational.

Iron Sleet Invitational: Thorian Inquisitor WIP

Innocence proves nothing.

Having largely finished the first inquisitor and his accompanying security officer, I have begun to work on the last model for the Invitational, a second inquisitor.  I wanted this inquisitor to be less cautious about his identity as an inquisitor, instead of wearing run-of-the-mill fatigues and overcoats, he would be wearing a custom suit of power armor.  Despite a more brazen appearance, I wanted to ensure the model still had a reserved quality, giving no indication towards his placement along the thin line of radicalism.